


Obsession

by Brainboxy (Pixichan)



Category: B.A.P, Kpop - Fandom
Genre: Abuse, Abusive Relationships, Alternate Universe - College/University, Conditioning, F/F, Gen, M/M, Non-Graphic Rape/Non-Con, Rape, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Assault, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, very side younglo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-14
Updated: 2015-08-13
Packaged: 2018-03-09 05:59:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 125,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3238937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pixichan/pseuds/Brainboxy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Daehyun knows it for sure, Youngjae is his. Now he only needs to convince Youngjae of that. </p><p>Creepy College AU in which rich boy Daehyun claims scholarship student Youngjae as his.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

There was a university a little ways out of Seoul that was known for being on of the best schools in the world, along with one of the richest. Each student had to go through a rigorous process to get in of ten different entrance exams, each with mounting difficulty from the rest, and if those were satisfactory, new students would have to find a way to manage the hefty tuition. The school rarely gave out scholarships, in fact there were exactly four to be handed out. Each of these was given to one student in each year, though very few of these scholarship students made it through all four years of university had they not come through the school's lower school system as well.

Youngjae was about to start his first year at university, completely broke, with one of those four scholarships. He had taken a total of twenty different exams just for this scholarship, which amounted for a full ride for all four years if he remained at the top of his class 90% of the time. The young brunet wasn't worried, though, which he should have been, since he had been at the top of his class since his first year of school. His IQ was genius level and he had never even needed to study for an exam before. He found those exams easy, even, and got a perfect score on all of them.

He was an unusual person for sure, and it was evident that the school board wanted to keep him around-- unlike all of the other scholarship students they lost each year. So, they assigned him a buddy who was meant to introduce him to the school, the campus, and the students, and he was to be coddled for the full first week of school, even given leniency of only being at the top 75% of the time. On top of that, he was given a meal stipend to spend in the cafeteria, so that he wouldn't have to pay the ridiculous prices given to all of the rich young adults that were now his classmates. He knew they would all know about him, even before he stepped foot on campus. The principal had told him his arrival had been announced to the whole student body, and that the students were eager to meet him.

But he knew he would fall short of any expectations. He was just Yoo Youngjae, from the poorest area of Seoul, with chubby cheeks, thick rimmed glasses, and red-brown hair that he had saved his entire high school career to afford the dye for. He liked to think he dressed well, but he didn't really have the resources to do so, just sweaters and button up shirts from thrift stores, one single black tie, and two pairs of pants. It was a little sad when he realized he could fit all of his clothes, books, and belongings into a small suitcase he had found in the back of a closet in his family's apartment. But that changed nothing for him, he could wait until he was older to have nice things.

Arriving on campus, he was met by the school principal and a smiling girl in a designer dress that seemed to be about his age. He was moving in a day earlier than everyone else so that he would have time to settle himself and adjust to the lavish, manicured campus. The university was small, with very few students attending, so campus was also rather small and entirely self contained. The fences out front were foreboding, warning him he was entering a world he did not belong in, even if the people at the gate had bright smiles.

The principal greeted him with enthusiasm, but quickly explained that he had a lot of work to do and could not stay, introducing him to the pretty girl in the designer dress before he left. Her name was Suzy, and she was the same year as him, the Class President, and his 'buddy' for the first week of school.

"Is this the only bag you have?" She asked him, motioning to the suitcase he carried behind him as the walked down the tree-lined, brick path to the dorm building.

Youngjae felt like he might be blushing, embarrassed at how little he had and how shabby he must look compared to her. "There's a backpack inside of it." He replied softly, looking away towards the unfamiliar buildings.

"But that's all you have?" She asked him.

"Yes." He replied, trying not to let how ashamed he was of it to show. No wonder scholarship students never lasted here, the entire school felt like it was screaming of how he didn't belong.

His conversation with Suzy was rather easy from there, concerning only academic expectations, campus layout, and other relevant things up until night hit and he was completely set up in his dinky little room, which was still nicer than the one he had at home. It was late into the night, maybe 2 in the morning, when Suzy decided to bring up a new topic.

"I should tell you about student culture." She said, sitting on his desk chair and staring at him. "This is the important one, the one that has all our scholarship students leave us." Youngjae nodded a bit and waited for her to continue. "You see, all of us already know each other, besides you and a small handful of other freshman that will be arriving tomorrow. People don't really go to this university unless they've been to our elementary, middle, and high schools first. So we all know each other, and the student culture is firm because of that. And it's unique."

"How so?" Youngjae asked, being sat cross-legged on the bed watching her. If this was the reason so many scholarship students quit, Youngjae would have to be sure to fit in.

"Well, there are a lot of things." She shrugged. "You have to wear the right brands, eat the right food, and talk the right way. We basically play follow the leader on all of those aspects, there's one student per class that everyone follows, and if you do not follow, you are not to be associated with." She shrugged. "Typically, this person is whoever's father is he richest and the most powerful. For our year, that's Jung Daehyun. All of his friends are the richest and he himself is the richest."

"So you all just do what he wants?" Youngjae asked.

"His parents are powerful. It makes sense to be on his good side, because when we're older he'll be a major factor in whether our companies will do well or go bankrupt." She told him. "It's not hard to understand."

"Alright, that's a lot then." He said softly.

"That's not it." She laughed. "That's just like the preamble, it doesn't even really apply to you. There's something  _you_  really need to understand though, and that's our dating system. We kind of have a ritual about it all, and it's important that you know it. We don't even really actually date here; one person claims another. If someone kisses your neck, it means you're their whore. Like that's it, you don't get a say in it. You will get fucked by them and anyone else who decides to kiss your neck too. Don't let anyone kiss your neck, just don't."

"What?" Youngjae asked, his face blank. "You're joking right?"

"Of course I'm not. And you better be extra careful because our class has a bad habit of everyone trying to kiss the neck of the scholarship student. As much as the school wants you, we don't, and we'll find the quickest way to get rid of you that we can."

"Oh." He replied softly, pulling his knees to his chest and rubbing a little at his neck. He'd be careful then.

She didn't seem to care. "The other thing we'll do to 'claim' someone is a bit more intricate. Basically, you get shoved up against a wall, right? The pin you there so you can't do shit to stop them and then they kiss you until they see fit. They won't stop kissing you, then, they just let go of your hands. You can push them away and slap them, and then you don't belong to them, or you can, like, run your fingers through their hair or something to show you're good with it, and then you're theirs. That one is more like normal dating, I guess. Like, you belong to them, but they can't do anything that you don't want, or the class will turn against them."

"Is it only guys doing that to girls?" He asked.

Suzy laughed. "Guys to guys, guys to girls, girls to guys, girls to girls. It can go anyway, and if you survive the phase where everyone tries to kiss your neck, you'll have to go through a phase of that next. Just note that if you reject someone, they'll probably immediately go for kissing your neck. Just, generally, avoid kissing people. Don't let anyone kiss you."

"So basically, I'm fucked." He said, feeling a bit doubtful about this whole thing. Maybe he should go home...

"Yeah, pretty much." Suzy shrugged. "I mean, I'd be more sympathetic, but you're not exactly the first 'buddy' I've had. On the bright side, if you can manage to please whoever claims you enough, they'll probably buy you nice things. Bribery isn't exactly uncommon in this school."

 

He spent the next day hiding in his room, eating some of the cheap instant ramen he had brought rather than risking going out to the cafeteria for food. Suzy had said she'd be there to lead him through his class schedule for the first week, but that was really it. He'd just have to figure out the rest of it on his own.

But, like it always does, Monday rolled around and she came knocking on his door to lead him to his first class. He had dressed himself in his best shirt and spent and hour fussing over his hair to try to make it look any less nerdy than it always did, but to no avail. He was glad all of the dorm rooms, even his extremely crappy one in the basement, had their own bathroom. Another scholarship student that had joined the school in fifth grade said that they were the only ones who got crappy rooms like this, everyone else practically got full out apartments or mansions, depending on how much they were willing to pay.

He fixed the glasses on his face and grabbed his backpack which contained exactly one notebook, one pencil, and his student card, and opened the door to see Suzy. She leaned in towards his neck and he quickly ducked away, leading her to smile and tell him he might survive the whole first day if he kept on his toes like that. The other scholarship student had confirmed that what she had told him was true, and that she herself had only avoided that fate because she had been in the school for so long. They were the only two at the moment, since no one else passed the rigorous testing required to be a scholarship student. He worried that that might mean the whole school would be gunning to get rid of him, and he promised himself that he would at least make it a year because of that. His parents had spent so much money sending him to good schools and tutors and other places when they found out about his high IQ, he wouldn't disappoint them now by failing.

She lead him through various pathways, all eyes on him as they passed because it was pretty easy to spot him as the outsider when being towed along by Suzy, until they reached the room his first class would take place in. It was some extremely advanced math class that Youngjae was so excited to be in, but now he was so nervous instead. Maybe if it was just him and the teacher instead it would be easier...

"Hi everyone!" Suzy cheered as she entered the class. "I hope you all had a great summer." She seemed to have a pleasant conversation with the others sitting in the room, which was mostly filled but lacking a teacher. Eventually, someone cleared their throat and nodded towards Youngjae, who was standing awkwardly staring at his discount shoes. "This is the new scholarship student, Yoo Youngjae." She told them, pulling the brunet forward and spinning him around a bit for the class to see. Youngjae just kind of let her, hoping they'd be kinder if he just kind of looked complacent to it all.

"Aw, what a cute little nerd." Some girl cooed, another adding on a, "let me kiss your neck! It'll be fun for you, I promise!" A couple other girls and guys had similar comments, either insulting him in the form of a compliment or telling him they'd give him money if he let them kiss him.

A voice cleared from the back of the class and suddenly everyone quieted down. Looking up, Youngjae saw all their eyes were on one person, and so his eyes were lead there too. In the back of the class sat a well dressed, handsome guy-- black skinny jeans, brand name black and white sneakers, a leather jacket, and a simple white T-Shirt, with a pendant around his neck. His hair was black and his stare was cold, and Youngjae suspected that everything he was wearing, however simple, probably cost more than the tuition of the school. Everyone was staring at him, and what Youngjae didn't know was that a simple nod from this guy would started hell for him.

The guy didn't nod though, instead looking Youngjae up and down once, before licking his lips and shrugging. He waited for just a moment to leave them all in suspense before he let out a nonchalant, cocky, "Dibs."

Youngjae wasn't entirely sure what that meant, whether this guy was going to be his primary tormentor or something else, but everyone seemed to 'ooo' quietly and look at Youngjae with stupid smiles. He looked at Suzy, in turn for help. "Well," she said quietly to him, putting her arm around him like a comforting friend, "On the bright side that means you might survive a little longer here."

"And on the other side?" He asked quietly back, though he was sure everyone could here him anyway.

"There isn't really another side. You'll probably not be too tormented, you'll probably survive." She told him. "But, if you remember what I said about not letting people kiss you, I'd like to note that that rule does not apply to him." She nodded her head towards the guy.

"You're saying I should let him kiss me?" Youngjae asked, just to clarify.

"Definitely." She replied, a weirdly amused smile on her face.

"Why?" He asked.

"That's Jung Daehyun." Suzy said, patting his head like he was a dog and bidding goodbye to everyone before he could really process the meaning behind that. She was almost out the door when Daehyun called her.

"Yo, Suzy." He called out.

"Yeah?" She asked, ducking her head back into the room.

"Why don't you let me take over your buddy duties? You must be busy since it's the beginning of the year and you're the class president." Suzy was the class president because she was privileged enough to call herself Daehyun's friend. Her mom's company was powerful enough that Daehyun could not threaten her, but under instruction from their parents they had formed a good friendship instead.

"That would be so great!" Suzy cheered, giving an award winning smile. "I'm literally swamped, you're a life saver." It was a total lie, Suzy was known for complaining that there was absolutely nothing to do the first week of school, but everyone didn't question it.

"No problem," He replied, "You know how much I love to help those poor, poor scholarship students." There was snickering at the mock sympathy in Daehyun's voice and Youngjae quickly decided he did not like him. He didn't give a flying fuck who Jung Daehyun was, he was just going to focus on school and ignore everyone. He didn't need to fit in, he needed to excel.

"So charitable." Suzy replied. "I'll see you all soon!"

"Oh, one last thing, Suzy?" Daehyun called out again, and Suzy ducked her head back through the door frame again to look at him. "I hear that other scholarship student, Min? The one in the year above? Yeah, I heard she really likes you." Suzy had wanted to claim Min for years now, only held back by the guys in charge, a.k.a Daehyun and his friends. This was a green light, a reward for telling Youngjae to let Daehyun kiss him.

She smiled a wide smile and a couple people gave he thumbs up. "I'll have to do something about that then, won't I? Thank you, Daehyun!" And then she ducked out for the third and final time and Youngjae felt like he might panic a little.

He wasn't sure if his life just got better or worse, but regardless, there were three seats open and he took the on farthest from Daehyun. A single desk in the corner of the room by the window. The chair was creaky and the desk shook, but it was better than sitting near someone who just called 'dibs' on him for whatever reason. He could way the pros and the cons of this situation in less than a second, but even that seemed to be too much time when he needed to stay alert.

No one made an attempt at his neck. No one tried to kiss him, talk to him, or even acknowledge his existence. That was it, so long as Daehyun stayed the fuck away from him this whole situation was a blessing. If they all left him alone like this, he could survive and prosper here. That's how it was in every other school he had been to after all.

The class was as exciting as interesting as Youngjae suspected it to be, and though his classmates seemed bored an uninterested, he was thrilled. He was able to distract himself from reality by jotting down notes and answering the questions posed by the teacher, though he seemed to be the only one who cared to. Their teacher was a tired middle aged man by the name of Mr. Lee, who seemed genuinely surprised when someone was willing to answer the questions he posed for the class, which, seeing how the other students were barely listening, didn't surprise him.

Maybe Youngjae was the odd one, but he had never learned to hate school.

After class, the teacher started up a conversation with him, about math and the research he was doing. It was up until the next class started filing into the room the Youngjae realized he should leave, asking for directions since he doubted whoever the fuck Jung Daehyun was had managed to get off his high horse long enough to wait for him.

His next class was in the building over, then he'd have a break for lunch, and then two more classes. Despite the normal course load being five courses, of which you'd have one to two each day since they were two hours each, Youngjae was instead taking eight. What could he say? He was excited.

He walked quickly on his way to the second class, listening for footsteps in hopes of keeping the other students away from his neck. He only heard one set behind him, maybe twenty feet away, always keeping pace with him. Youngjae didn't need to look back to guess who it was, but he did, and lo and behold there was Jung Daehyun, following behind as if he was just on the same path.

The other student ducked away right as Youngjae entered the classroom, and out of breath, he sat in the very front row, as far away from the other students as he could. The woman gathering her notes in the front gave him a knowing look, silencing the class to begin the lecture when she saw someone creeping up on Youngjae hoping to make a dive for his neck. The student had to sit down, and another classmate whispered to him the rumor that was already spreading around campus. The scholarship student was Daehyun's; no one could touch him.

Not wanting to run out of ramen so quickly, Youngjae forced himself to go to the dining hall after class for lunch. Everyone was leaving him alone so maybe it was okay. Well, maybe, until some upperclassman through an arm around his shoulder and started dragging him to one direction in the dining hall.

He tried to squirm a way, whining, "What are you doing?" The man was well dressed, with long black hair and a scary look on his face.

"Fetching you." The student replied in a voice that was scary levels of deep, and Youngjae could see now that they were making their way towards the table Daehyun was sitting at, talking animatedly with yet another well dressed black-haired student. He squirmed a bit more, but accepted his fate. All of the other tables were full anyway, and maybe nothing bad would come of this. So far, the only thing that had changed was that no one made attempts at his neck.

He was grabbed by the wrist by Daehyun, forced to sit in the chair next to him. A tray of food was already waiting for him there, which was a bit shocking but he chose not to comment on.

The cafeteria went silent all of a sudden, and Youngjae followed everyone's eyes to one of the intricately decorated walls where one girl in a designer dress had another in simple clothes like Youngjae's pinned to a wall. Suzy and Min. Suzy grabbed Min's hands in one of hers to the tune of cheers from the others eating, the grip to loose to actually hold the other student if she hadn't been going with it. They kissed and when Suzy let go of her hands, Min cupped her face a bit.

Next to him, Daehyun whistled loudly, and he and the student across from him applauded, while Youngjae and the one that had dragged him there just sat and stared.

"You let her?" The student across from Daehyun asked, leaning a bit on the one that had dragged Youngjae to the table.

Daehyun shrugged. "She did a couple favors for me and I thought it was only fair" He answered. "You should introduce yourself to scholarship boy, Channie. Before he gets to curious."

"I'm Kim Himchan." The student across from Daehyun said with a flick of his hair and an uncaring glance in Youngjae's direction. "You've already met my Yonggukkie." He added, patting the arm of the scary looking student next to him. "Now, seriously, Daehyunnie. How did you find this one and why? He looks just as nerdy as all the ones you've got rid of. But, possibly the worst dressed..."

Daehyun started to eat his food again, giving Youngjae a stern look. "Either eat your food or I'll eat it for you." He said before turning to Himchan. "I'm sure he'll look a lot better once he's wearing something of actual worth."

Youngjae chewed his lip for a moment before standing and walking away from the table. The three didn't seem to notice, and so Youngjae went, bought himself a new lunch with his stipend, and left the dining hall. It was still warm out and there were some nice trees by the soccer fields he could sit under rather than putting up with pretentious bullshit.

He knew Daehyun was watching him when he left the cafeteria. It wasn't worth it to care, Youngjae didn't belong to him. He wouldn't belong to him. This whole school was dumb and he did not have to put up with it. Whatever way there was to make this less horrible, he would follow it.

 

"What's he like?" Daehyun had asked Suzy over the phone on the day after Youngjae arrived. He was in the car on the way to school, his stuff having been moved in for him the day before. "Think they've finally found one that they can keep around?" He and Suzy usually were the first to conspire on how to get rid of the scholarship kid.

"Not a chance." Suzy laughed. "He looked absolutely freaked when he found out about claiming, if anyone gets his neck, he'll probably drop out then and there." She paused, thinking for a bit on how to describe Youngjae. "He's like a timid rabbit. Like, he spent the entire time we were talking just nodding and biting his lip. I guess he's kind of cute though, in a really nerdy way. Thick-rimmed black glasses and sweater over button up level nerdy, though, exactly the type you folks would be thrilled if you picked up."

Rather than dating someone rich like his classmates, Daehyun was instructed by his parents to date whoever he could find that was the smartest. Preferably a poor genius so they'd be entirely dependent on Daehyun for money and willing to do all the development for his company for him. "We've seen what I do to the ones my parents would approve of." Daehyun laughed, referencing the last two scholarship students, whom he managed to torment to the point that they quit on their first days. He didn't like any of them, they were all the same ugly, snotty poor boys with no class. Most of the time they didn't even fight back, they were too busy trying to appease him. Daehyun hated people that bent over backwards to please him.

Well, excluding Suzy. They had a deal. She did what he wanted and he'd get her the things she wanted in return. She was class president because of him, and maybe one day she'd do him a big enough favor that he'd let her have Min too...

"I wonder how long this one will last." Suzy said, and Daehyun could hear her heels clicking over the phone. "The school really wants him."

Daehyun snorted a bit. "Yes, nerd boy is their wet dream as far as scores go. I bet the principal will come welcome me to the university and then beg that I keep this one, but we'll see. Maybe I'll find him amusing."

"Maybe you'll find him cute." Suzy answered. "If someone were to give him a makeover, I'd imagine he'd be in high demand."

"That's a job for Channie, not me." Daehyun said with a smile. "But we'll see. Go check up on poor boy and that scholarship student in the year above." He knew her name was Min, of course, but he didn't need to say it. "Make sure they haven't bonded too much on how awful their lives are going to be."

The next day changed things. It was the first day of class and Daehyun was only putting in half effort for his appearance because he had no one to impress. Or so he thought. Sitting in the back of the class, he chatted with his classmates about their summers and his own, which he had spent jetting from one island to the next enjoying the sun and the beaches.

Right on schedule, Suzy walked in, towing someone behind her that made the whole world stop and one word remained in Daehyun's mind:  _mine_. That scholarship student with his think rimmed glasses, poor style, fluffy cheeks and cute lips, he was Daehyun's.

His mind was so filled with it, so filled with the possessiveness that came with seeing his classmate for the first time that he almost forgot he had a role to play. Almost. Everyone was staring at him, waiting for the nod that would signal them to begin tormenting Youngjae until he decided to quit and go somewhere where he wasn't an outsider, like a thrift shop. But Daehyun did not nod.

"Dibs." He tried to sound as cocky as possible in hopes of masking it, of masking the possessiveness. It wasn't even just  _dibs_ , no one had a choice in the matter and no one could disagree with him. Not even Youngjae. He belonged to Daehyun now.

 

Youngjae walked out of the cafeteria on him, but Daehyun had a reputation to uphold, so he acted as though he didn't care. It was a chase, wasn't it? It was a game. Who wouldn't want him? Especially someone like Youngjae, who had nothing. Youngjae must want him back, must want to be his. Daehyun had never had thoughts like this before but suddenly, it's where all his thoughts were.

_Mine. Mine. Mine. He will be mine. He is mine._

He got Youngjae's class schedule from Suzy, waiting outside his last class of the day for him because he wasn't about to let the other get away so easily. Daehyun needed Youngjae to know as soon as possible  _exactly_  who he belonged to.

The students started to file out and as expected, Youngjae wasn't among them. Daehyun was sure he was in there nerding out with the teacher like he had done in the math class they shared, but that was less than important. Within a matter of minutes, Youngjae would be his, he could wait for one or two more. He played with the master key had had snagged from Yongguk, who happened to be the son of the principal of the school, which opened almost all doors on campus.

Finally, Youngjae walked out of the room, concerned with the books in his hands over where he was going. Daehyun took the chance to grab him, pushing him into a corner and shoving him there.

The scholarship student struggled for a second to get away, before shielding his neck with his hands instead, his books dropped on the floor at their feet.

They were silent for a long time, just staring each other in the eyes as Daehyun mulled over what to do now that he had gotten his scared Youngjae cornered. The teacher was still in the classroom, so he couldn't drag him out of the hall quite yet. "You should pick up your books, Youngbae." He said, purposely saying Youngjae's name wrong like he often did when he wanted to remind people that they meant nothing to him.

Youngjae didn't mean nothing to him.

"I wouldn't have to pick them up if you hadn't made me drop them." Youngjae retorted, staring down Daehyun until he submitted to picking up his books, which resulted in him being kneeled in front of Daehyun like he was bowing. "And that's not my name."

"I know." Was Daehyun's cocky reply, nudging one of Youngjae's books away from him with his toe.

Youngjae glared for a second before reaching past him to grab the final book, sticking the lot of them in his backpack, which was old and falling apart like most of everything Youngjae owned.

He stood up after, semi-determined to push Daehyun away, but he made the fatal mistake of letting his guard down while in action. Daehyun was quick to grab his hands and yank them down, holding them tightly in one of his so that Youngjae couldn't struggle away. The other hand reached up to tangle into his hair and pull harshly until Youngjae's head was tilted to the side. Then there were lips on his neck, sucking until a dark hickey was left in there wake.

"Great." Youngjae grumbled, trying to struggle free still. "Can you just leave me be now? I really don't give a shit about this whole claiming thing, you can't intimidate me just by kissing my neck."

Daehyun laughed a little in response. "Leave you be? Silly boy, you're mine now. Though if you want to be more than just my whore, all you have to do is promise you'll say yes." Daehyun would rather have actually claimed Youngjae from the get-go, but both Suzy and Himchan warned him against it, reminding him that Youngjae was an outsider who wouldn't understand why he should do what Daehyun wanted.

"Why on Earth would I do that?" Youngjae answered, right as the teacher exited the classroom, closing and locking the door behind him and clearly eavesdropping on the conversation he had just walked in on.

Guessing that he hadn't heard any other part of the conversation, Daehyun was quick to act. "Because my father will be upset with me if I do poorly in math. Please, I'll only need help before the big tests and I promise I'll pay you well for tutoring me." The teacher seemed to accept that this was the conversation that was occurring and headed off around the corner and away from the two. Daehyun voice had dropped an octave when he whispered his next words to Youngjae. "Because right now, there are no rules for what I can do to you. I could fuck you in front of the whole school, make you go the whole day with a vibrator up your ass, tie you to a bed and just leave you there... Mm, I have a good imagination, Youngbae, it would be better if you did what I wanted. Then I couldn't do those things to you." He used the wrong name again on purpose ad now Youngjae knew it was on purpose which just angered him more.

"My name is Youngjae." He snapped, shoving Daehyun lightly. "And you're just bluffing trying to intimidate me. Just leave me alone." He tried to walk past but Daehyun wouldn't let him.

"Not a chance." Daehyun replied. "Do I need to prove what I could do to you?" He asked with a bit of a smirk before grabbing the other roughly by the wrist and pulling out his key.

He unlocked the classroom door, pulling them both in and locking it behind him. Youngjae was pushed up against the door, Daehyun pushing into his back as he whispered with hot breaths into Youngjae's ear. "I could fuck you right here if I wanted." He whispered. "I could bend you over every desk, make you ride me on each chair. And you could go complain to anyone here, they wouldn't be able to do shit. They would defend  _me_."

"And what would you do if I said yes to what you want?" Youngjae asked skeptically, but he doubted it would be any different. Both Suzy and Min had told him there were rules if he let Daehyun claim him instead of just kissing his neck, but he didn't know what those rules were.

Daehyun's grip loosened just a bit. "Take you back to where I'm staying, order you nicer clothes, maybe get the cook to make us some snacks." He shrugged.

"But then you'd do the exact same thing, wouldn't you? Just not in a classroom." Youngjae spat.

Daehyun's teeth grazed his earlobe like a warning, he did have the patience for a debate. "I'd wait until you were ready for it," he paused for a second as if to think, "or at least I'd try to. And I'd make sure to make it good for you too."

"You wouldn't now?" Youngjae shot back, trying to wiggle away only to get a slap on his thigh.

"Of course not." Daehyun answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "If you're not giving me what I want, why would I make it any good for you? I'd purposely make it bad, just to prove a point."

Youngjae chewed his lip, "What are these rules if I let you claim me?" He was in a bad situation, and was realizing that now. He had the sole goal of getting it as resolved as he could, because he was determined not to give up on this school. "You, Min, and Suzy all said there were rules if you claimed me instead of just kissing my neck."

"Yeah." Daehyun answered, delighted that Youngjae was seeing reason. "I can't videotape you or otherwise do anything public without your permission, I can't 'torment or torture' you sexually without consent, etc. It's beneficial to you."

"Fine." Daehyun wasn't sure what Youngjae meant by this word but he knew what he took it to be. He turned Youngjae around and started kissing him hard, holding his two hands in one once again while the other tugged on Youngjae's hair and tried to force his head closer. It wasn't until Daehyun tried to force his tongue into Youngjae's mouth that the other objected particularly, jolting his back a little to mumble a weak, "Daehyun, I don't want to."

So Daehyun didn't try that again, instead just kissing him until he decided he was content and would let Youngjae decide. Carefully, he let go of Youngjae's hands in favor of holding his hips.

Now he was just waiting on Youngjae's response, to hold him or push him away. Youngjae raised his hand and...


	2. Chapter 2

Youngjae shoved Daehyun away as hard as he could. "I want nothing to do with you!" Youngjae shouted, panting.

Daehyun reacted quickly, pulling Youngjae away from the door and bending him over a nearby desk, just as he had said he could. He pressed up against the younger student's back side, growling a bit as he leaned over to hiss in his ear. "Are you sure about that, Youngjae? You're making a really bad mistake right now."

"I'm positive, just let me go!" Youngjae shouted back, wiggling to try to get away, but only succeeding in getting Daehyun to push harder against him. His arms flailed trying to push himself off the desk or gain leverage, but Daehyun was quick to grab them and pin them down above Youngjae's head. "Just let me go!" He cried out. "Let me go!"

"I don't think you understand, Youngjae." Daehyun said, clearly seething. "Your life would be much easier if you'd just do what I want. I thought we went through this, and you're meant to be smart. How could someone smart enough to get into this school be this dumb?"

"Get off me!" Youngjae shouted in reply, not even listening to Daehyun anymore as the other tried to hold him down.

"Maybe you fucked your way in." Daehyun remarked cruelly. "That's the only way I could see someone as dumb as you getting in. Because, you're clearly not smart enough to realize what the only real good option is right now." His voice dropped and octave as he spoke again. "I could fuck you right now, right against this desk. And you're telling me you'd rather that than just kissing me back? I'd be so good to you, Jae."

Youngjae was really getting scared now, a couple tears brimming in his eyes as he struggled. "Please, I don't want to. Please let me go." He begged, a couple tears falling from his eyes.

Daehyun, in shock, let go, stepping back a bit. Even he wasn't this much of an asshole. "What do you want, Jae?" He asked softly. Youngjae was quick to pull himself up and turn around, doing a split second of calculations in his head. Daehyun probably wouldn't just let him go like this, if Youngjae tried to leave he'd probably force him down again and maybe actually do something this time.

Youngjae did what his dad had always told him to do if a bigger kid was picking on him. It didn't usually happen since Youngjae readily offered help to anyone who wanted it in his old schools, but the knowledge was useful now. He kneed Daehyun as hard as he could, then, while Daehyun was still recovering from that, bolted towards the door. Daehyun grabbed him before he could open the door, shoving him against it. Youngjae shoved Daehyun right back, so that they were far enough away that the door could open, and then slapped him hard across the face.

Daehyun froze, his head whipped to the side and his hand on his cheek, mouth agape. He looked stunned, like no one had ever dared fight back like this before. "What do you want?" He reiterated, sounding so entirely shocked. Youngjae took it as a cue to leave.

He opened the door as quickly as he could. Daehyun was still just standing there, stunned. "Leave me alone. I want you to leave me alone."

Youngjae was running then, out of the class room, out of the building, all the way to his dorm, where he locked himself up inside his room and curled up in a ball against the door. He didn't know if Daehyun had run after him, or had sent someone after him. He didn't know if he had just made some fatal mistake that would get him killed or what.

He just didn't know.

For once in his life, Youngjae was entirely clueless, uncertain, and terrified. He could have just start hell for himself, he didn't know. His mind was racing with all of the millions of awful things Daehyun would probably do to him tomorrow, and since that hickey would stay apparent on Youngjae's neck, probably no one would stop him. They were all probably expecting it from the moment Daehyun called dibs.

After about an hour or so, he collected himself to the best of his abilities and tried to calm himself down with some work. Nothing was due until the day after next at the very least, but Youngjae wantd to stay on top of it, and maybe working would calm him down some.

Daehyun stared at the open door Youngjae had run out of for a short while before pulling out his phone and calling a familiar number. "Hey, Suzy. I'm going to have to ask a favor." He paused for a second, letting her get wherever she needed to be for people not to overhear. "Yoo Youngjae just told me he wanted nothing to do with me. I want to make sure that's exactly what he gets until he changes his mind."

Suzy understood immediately.

They chatted for a little longer on the specifics of what had happened, and what Daehyun wanted done because of it. Suzy was smart, Daehyun knew that, he knew she could get everything done sneakily, without anyone being able to tell Daehyun was in charge of it all.

A mass text went out that night to everyone but Youngjae, one that said Daehyun had relinquished his claim on the scholarship student, and that the boy was now free game. It was sent out by an anonymous number, practically untraceable, not that anyone cared enough to check and see who had sent it. They were all more excited by the prospect of it all. Youngjae was free game now, and they all wanted to see how long it would take them to make him quit without Daehyun's help.

Daehyun was usually the mastermind, but they all wanted to prove themselves to him. To prove they could be cruel and domineering and how Daehyun wanted them to be. Even if the student took no part of it, they wanted to prove themselves to him.

All Hell was about to break loose for Youngjae, he had made a fatal mistake.

 

He woke up the next morning to the sound off giggling, and when Youngjae opened his eyes he realized he, and his entire bed, had been moved outside the dorm in the middle of the night. Someone dumped a cold bucket of water on him, causing him to jump up and panic. "Rise and shine, pretty princess!" A mocking voice cheered. Another bucket of ice water was thown at him to the sound of chitters and outright laughter. Youngjae was drenched now, soaked from head to foot in the cold water they had dumped on him.

Youngjae jumped, screaming a bit at the second bucket of water to the amusement of the small group of students laughing at him. Several took a dive to kiss his neck, a couple actually making it due to his slowed, sleepy defenses. They laughed then, talking about how fun it would be to play with Youngjae, saying that maybe they'd all even find a way to share.

He got up as quickly as he could and ran away, back to his room where he'd hopefully be safe from it all. He had thought Daehyun's claim on him had protected him, why were they pranking him?

Had he just screwed himself over by rejecting Daehyun?

His room had been trashed by the time he entered, his few meager belongings thrown on the ground, broken, ripped or dirty. Someone had spray painted the words 'cock slut' and 'bitch' on his walls, and the floor was splattered with mud. His breath was coming out ragged now, and Min popped her head into the room to warn him that he didn't want to see what they had done to his bathroom.

She let him use hers, for which he was grateful, but most of his clothes were disgusting so it's not like he could wear them. After showering, he just dug through the small pile until he found some that had been mostly spared.

Min told him to call the people in charge of the dorm, and that they'd send a cleaning clue to fix all of it. Given that Youngjae's cell phone, for which he had barely been able to afford in the first place, had been smashed particularly bad and no longer functioned, so he had to borrow Min's as well. He'd have to apologize to his parents when he went home, since there was no way he could afford a new one, and a doubtful chance he'd be able to find a phone to call them with before then.

It was only his second day and he already wanted to go home.

The dining hall that morning was a nightmare, everyone seemed to be gunning for his neck as he waiting in line to get whatever meager, barely life-sustaining meal he could afford with his stipend for breakfast.

A bowl of cereal. That was it, all he could afford on the tiny amount of money the school gaze him. In other circumstances he wouldn't have viewed it as that bad, it's not like his family always had money for food and he wasn't entirely unaccustomed to the feeling of going hungry for a day or two while waiting on the next paycheck. But now it was awful, and he was miserable, and even the tiny amount of food upset him.

And then someone walked by and smacked the tray out of his hands. Milk splattered everywhere, along with cereal bits. The bowl shattered too, and all that was left was the tray, laying face down in all its red plastic glory on top of the giant mess puddling around Youngjae's feet.

"Aw, poor scholarship boy." Some girl chimed as she walked by. "Maybe if you're a good enough fuck, someone will buy you more."

The rest of the cafeteria was laughing now, and Youngjae just stood there, staring at the cereal pooling around his feet in shock and sadness. They say there's no use crying over spilled milk, but maybe sometimes it happened any way.

"Shouldn't you go help him?" Youngjae could hear someone whisper, and looking from the corner of his eye he saw Himchan talking to Daehyun.

Daehyun had a nasty bruise on his cheek, but otherwise looked unaffected and rather uncaring. He shrugged a bit, looking at Youngjae, who he didn't know was looking back at him. "He said he didn't want anything to do with me." Daehyun answered. "I'm just respecting his wishes. It's not like I can make the rest of the students leave him alone too."

Youngjae wanted to scream out that Daehyun was a liar, that he was orchestrating this somehow, but he knew that would be a bad idea. With his hands balled into fists and tears hanging on his eyelashes, Youngjae just ducked his head and left.

Class was equally Hell with spitballs and loud, smacking kisses on his neck constantly aimed at him. The teacher looked mildly apologetic towards him, but entirely apathetic towards the whole situation, not even trying to stop them from tormenting poor, nerdy Youngjae, who just wanted to go cry in his room for the entirety of both class periods he had before lunch.

The lunch room grew silent the moment he walked in, making him feel self conscious. It was one of those times you could tell everyone was looking at you and that was something Youngjae would really rather no one do at this point. He felt pathetic, with his puffy red eyes and his dirty clothes. But he was hungry since he skipped breakfast, the stress of the day only serving to make it worse. He didn't even try to escape the people kissing his neck now, all of them feeling free to cop a feel somewhere once they did.

Someone pushed him down while he was waiting in line, a couple giggles sounding out from various part of the room. Youngjae got on his knees in preparation to stand, only for two sets of strong hands to force him to stay down there while someone shoved their crotch in his face.

He just turned his head and waited for them to stop. Maybe if he was complacent about it, they'd get bored and leave him alone.

After annoyed sigh from one of the lunch ladies, asking the boys holding onto Youngjae to wait to assault him until it wasn't blocking the line, Youngjae was let loose again. He stood, his cheeks flushed pink with embarrassment and went to grab the cheap sandwich that he'd be having for lunch, packaged as it was meant to be 'to go' food.

After paying with his student card, which had his stipend on it, Youngjae turned to look and see if there were any empty tables. Of course, there wasn't. There wasn't even room at Daehyun's table if he was willing to grovel, since Suzy and Min had taken the empty seats.

Youngjae wouldn't have sit there anyway. No matter how upset he was, he was not to the point that he was willing to let Daehyun have him.

He went to walk out of the lunch room, hoping maybe it wouldn't be raining, as it had started to in the middle of his last class, and he'd be able to sit under a tree like yesterday.

Someone tripped him on the way out, him falling face first onto the hard floor and smacking his nose against the ground. The whole lunch room erupted in laughter as whoever tripped him stepped on his back when he tried to stand up. Whoever they were, they pretended to hump him for a moment or two, smacking his ass once before they let him go, making sure to step on his packaged sandwich as they walked away.

 Youngjae grabbed the food and his bag, checking to make sure the packaging on the sandwich hadn't broken so he could still eat it. He could feel the blood dripping out his nose now and there were those pesky tears again, but Youngjae thought he had cried enough for one day.

Everyone was still laughing, looking around the room briefly before he decided to take his leave. There were a total of two people that looked unamused, a narrow eyed blonde haired student, and Jung Daehyun-- who could win an Emmy for the look of fake surprise and pity on his face. Youngjae didn't believe for a second that it was for real, carefully holding onto his bloody nose ass he walked out of the cafeteria.

Maybe it was broken.

He knew there was an infirmary somewhere, and decided to seek it out so a nurse could check and make sure the fall hadn't ruined his nose, but he had no clue where it was.

He should have known wandering around the school was an awful idea, but he did it anyway. Soon enough, he could hear footsteps behind him. He sped up a bit but they kept in time, and he prayed it was just a teacher trying to help him. He had no such luck, as he passed an intersection in the hallway, two students jumped out from either side, and the third behind him covered his mouth quickly.

They dragged him into a little alcove behind the stairs, and Youngjae was sure he was going to die. Hands manhandled him and stopped him from making noise until his chest was flush up against the wall, two pinning him there and the third grinding up against him. He fought, crying a bit again as he tried to get away.

Youngjae was pinned there for maybe two minutes before the sound of a large smack came, the two attacking him who had not been hit turning their heads to see who had hit their friend, only to be punched out as well. Youngjae slumped down on the wall, not even bothering anymore as he just laid there and sobbed. "You alright, kid?" A voice asked, and Youngjae opened his eyes to see the same narrowed eye boy who hadn't laughed in the lunch room shaking his hand out, Daehyun behind him.

Daehyun kicked one of the boys, who had been moving a bit, before nodding to the narrow eyed student and walking away. "What just...?" Youngjae mumbled, his voice cracking and hoarse because he was crying.

"I should take you to the infirmary." The other student replied, grabbing Youngjae's backpack and sandwich, and then picking up Youngjae and throwing him over his shoulder. "My name is Zico." The other student told him, now walking down the hall as if the most normal thing ever had just happened. "It's not a far walk, just be patient."

"Why did... What just..." Youngjae's head hurt a lot since he had been thrown into the wall. He kind of felt like he needed to puke, but he there wasn't much in his stomach to puke out.

"Daehyun got worried when he saw how people were treating you this morning." Zico explained. "But he knows you want him to stay away from you so he asked me to keep anyone from doing anything too awful. Those three are notorious for being assholes, though, so when I saw one of them tailing you I texted him asking for help. I'm surprised he came, he's being rather adamant about leaving you alone."

The name sent off warning signs in Youngjae's head and he started struggling, surprising Zico and causing the other to drop him. "Stay away from me." He shouted at the other, scrambling away. Zico just raised his hands to show he wouldn't do anything, putting Youngjae food and backpack on the ground slowly like they were a weapon and sliding them over to the younger. Youngjae was shaking now as he grabbed his bag and his food, getting a hold off them quickly as he backed away. He didn't believe this, any of it. He knew Daehyun was behind all of the shit he had been through today.

Well, in reality, Youngjae was right, but he didn't know that. But Zico was also telling the truth, Daehyun didn't want other people hurting Youngjae  _too_  much, so he asked Zico to make sure no one took things too far.

Once Youngjae deemed himself far enough away, he turned and made a break for it.

It's not like Zico chased after him, but he kept running anyway, up until he reached a door with an 'Infirmary' sigh hanging above it. He looked around, observing the hallway suspiciously, before ducking into the room and closing the door behind him.

"You must be the new scholarship student." A woman's voice aired behind him, and he turned to see a rather tired looking nurse staring at him. "I was honestly expecting you yesterday. Come on, let's see what damage they did to you." She motioned him onto one of the many empty beds, already gathering supplies because it was pretty clear Youngjae needed some medical attention.

First, she cleaned off the dried blood from his nose, and the other parts of his face it had smeared to. She felt around it then, to see if it was broken, while Youngjae just sat there and winced. "You'll be fine." She told him. Youngjae didn't believe her. "Your nose is a bit bruised, but not broken." She said next, rubbing some bruise ointment on it and other part of his face that looked a little pink before offering him an icepack to hold there. "Is there anywhere else I need to look or have they been unusually nice to you?"

"Don't worry." Youngjae replied. "I think the only damaged part of me that hasn't been treated yet is my pride."

The nurse smiled kindly, pity written all over her face. "Well, I can't do much about that, but I do have lollipops if that'll help any."

"I think that kind of phallic imagery might lead to me being worse off than I am now." Youngjae answered, standing up and bowing to her a bit. "Thank you very much, I'm sure I'll be seeing you again soon."

"There's a storage closet nearby that the rich kids are to prissy to go near if you need somewhere to hide." She replied.

Youngjae would have never imagined he'd be going to one of the wealthiest schools in the world, nor would he have ever imagined that upon going there, he'd find himself eating a stepped on sandwich in a dimly lit supply closet, his only company being a mop.

But that's where he was and what was happening, and Youngjae was just glad his sandwich had remained wrapped through the whole arduous process of getting to a place where he could eat it, because he was feeling a bit too dizzy to skip another meal. Maybe it was the stress, but he was entirely starving. Starving and homesick, in a dimly lit closet in the corner of the school.

The door opened to reveal a janitor, who just sighed and gave him a weak, "Stay strong, kid," before pulling the mop out of the closet and leaving him there to eat in peace. They all seemed so used to it.

Eventually, Youngjae got up and went to his next class, determined to ignore everyone yet again as he took notes on the lecture. Notes that were promply torn form his hands and ripped to shreds the moment the class period was over. Youngjae was entirely unsurprised, though dismayed because he had worked hard to catch all of the important information from the lecture and now it was all gone.

He acted as though he didn't care, picking himeslf up and heading off to his next and final class of the day. Walking in, he realized he shared this class with Daehyun, meaning that he'd have class with him every day now. He acted as though he didn't care, glueing his eyes to the floor as he went to the front of the class to take a seat in the front row.  People were teasing him, kissing him, and groping him again, but Youngjae pretended not to notice. Youngjae pretended not to care. He would make it evident that he didn't give a shit what Jung Daehyun had done to him, and then maybe the other student would tell his classmates to leave him alone.

The torment didn't stop though, of course it didn't. No one was going to give up that easily.


	3. Chapter 3

Youngjae made it exactly one month before he gave in and gave up. Exactly one month of barricading himself in his room and using every bit of intelligence he had to survive in the hellhole school had become. His main method of survival had been becoming complacent to groping hands and harsh shoves; so long as he managed to eat every couple of days and make it to his hideout in the supply closet, he really did not care.

But then, like Suzy said, phase two started up. Kissing his neck wasn't good enough anymore, suddenly people were trying to claim him as theirs for real. It held the promise that once he belonged to them, things would get more intense. They would try to actually  _do things_  with him rather than just assaulting him to get a laugh from whoever else happened to be around to watch the torment. So, of course, every time Youngjae's back hit a wall he was quick to shove and hit and knee people and then run, like he had with Daehyun.

But eventually they found out about his supply closet, and three girls cornered him there. He couldn't convince himself to hit a girl, although he did find it necessary to shove the one that tried to claim him. He ran back to his dorm room after that, away from the awfulness he had just faced.

He wasn't even surprised when the lock on his door clicked open, whoever was coming in would just trash the place and leave, so there was no reason for him to move at this point. He could just lay face down on the bed until they got bored and left him to wallow in his own misery alone. He hadn't gotten perfect scores on his two recent tests either, something he was entirely unused to. Youngjae felt useless.

Surprisingly, whoever it was just closed the door gently behind them and re-locked it, putting the barricade Youngjae usually had in front of it back so no one else could get in. The middle of the bed dipped as someone sat down next to where he was laying, and designer heels clicked over the floor to his desk chair. It must be two people then. He didn't look up as the one sitting on his bed started playing with his hair, some gentle comfort in the sweet gesture. He didn't want whoever this was to touch him, but he was too tired to fight anymore. He wished he had just said yes to Daehyun.

Tears started bubbling up in his eyes as they all stayed in silence, the only thing happening being those soft fingers running comfortingly through his hair. His breaths started to become shaky and harsh as he broke down crying. Once the tears started they wouldn't stop, and Youngjae didn't know how to process what he was feeling or deal with the situation. He hated it all so much, he wanted to give up. Anything would be better than this.

"Can't you do something?" He heard the person above him ask, clear pity in her tone.  _Min_ , the other must be Suzy.

He could hear Suzy sigh, and once she spoke he was sure it was her. Min stopped playing with his hair in favor of rubbing is back gently, trying to calm down the sobbing boy. "Not particularly." Suzy said, and even she clearly was feeling pity. "If it's an consolation, Youngjae, you've lasted the longest of any one that's ever been put in our class."

Youngjae just continued to sob into the pillow, he didn't care anymore. It didn't matter if he was the best, this place was awful and Youngjae just wanted to go home, but he couldn't even call his parents because the phone he had saved for for so long was smashed. He had thought university would be amazing, but this was a whole new level of hell. This was cruelty beyond his wildest dreams and it was hopeless, endless. It felt like there was no way out and honestly he thought he could make it maybe a week longer before he'd drop out.

Min shushed him as his sobs got harsher. "Come on now, Youngjae." She told him, still rubbing his back in hopes that it would help even the littlest bit. "You can make it, can't you? Just a little bit longer and they'll get bored and leave you alone."

"No, they won't." Suzy said, chewing on her lip. "Normally, yes, at this point they'd be about ready to give up. One last awful hurrah and Youngjae would be in the clear. But that's because Daehyun usually calls it, he's the one that would tell them it's not worth it anymore. Because he isn't participating in this, everyone thinks they need to prove themselves. They want to prove they can be just as cruel as him. The last class meeting was just everyone bragging about what they had done to Youngjae, about how they'd be the reason he'd quit."

"I bet Daehyun enjoyed that." Min said, her voice harsh. "I know he's your friend, Suzy, but he's awful. You've seen the things he's done to other scholarship students to get them to quit, he probably gets off on hearing how his brain-washed lemmings are doing the exact same."

"He looked heart-broken, actually." Suzy corrected, something genuine in her tone. "He asked me if there was a way  _I_  could make it better, because he's not supposed to be getting involved. I mean, yeah, he knew this would happen if he let go of his claim on Youngjae, but he says he didn't know it would be this bad. He honestly thought the others would be clueless without him."

"Bullshit." Both Min and Youngjae said at the same time.

Youngjae finally lifted his face from where he'd been trying to suffocate himself with his pillow, which had been pretty much destroyed about a week ago so that it wasn't even comfy anymore. "How do I make it stop?" Youngjae asked Suzy pathetically.

"The only one who can get them to leave you alone is Daehyun, and you kneed him, slapped him, and told him you wanted nothing to do with him." Suzy answered.

Youngjae looked at her with that hopelessness in his eyes, like he was begging. "Please." He whimpered. "There's got to be something."

"Call Daehyun." Min demanded, something angry in her voice. "Stop pretending like this is impossible, Suzy. Call Daehyun and promise to suck him off or whatever you normally do to get him to give you what you want."

"You don't get to talk to me that way." Suzy warned, anger in her tone. "And he does what I want because I'm his friend, we don't do anything like that."

Min sighed, her jaw harsh as she continued rubbing Youngjae's back in hopes of calming him down, since he had entered into another fit of tears. "Call him and fix this, or I'll drop out and go back home. I'll make sure you never see me again. Call Daehyun."

"What am I supposed to say to him?" Suzy practically shouted. "If he gets enough of our classmates on his side he could literally bankrupt my whole family! I'm not about to do something that might piss him off, Min. If he doesn't want to be involved there's literally nothing I can do about it. Maybe if he still liked Youngjae I could..." Suzy seemed to be thinking.

Min started petting Youngjae's hair again, something sickly sweet taking over her voice. "Poor, little Youngjae, right, Suzy? He liked Daehyun so much from the moment he saw him. Mm, but he decided to play hard to get, and now he's just so sad because Daehyun misunderstood."

"That doesn't work, he hit him." Suzy answered, rejecting Min's story.

"Why'd you hit Daehyun, Youngjae baby?" Min asked, that same tone in her voice. Youngjae only vaguely understood what was going on, that they were making up a story to tell Daehyun.

"He said he was going to bend me over a desk and fuck me." Youngjae said honestly. "I was scared."

Min raised her eyebrows at Suzy, and the younger sighed, pulling out her phone. "This is going to take a lot of bullshitting, Youngjae. You've got to be really committed to letting Daehyun have you and to pretending to want him, you hear me? Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I just want it to stop." Youngjae answered. "I want to be able to go to sleep without worrying about who's going to sneak in and do what to me. I want to go to class without being assaulted by everyone passing by, and I want the things I can barely afford in the first place to stop getting broken. I don't care how you fix it anymore, or what I have to do. Just please, make it stop."

Suzy nodded, dialing on her phone and crossing her legs as it rang. "Hi, Daehyunnie." She said in a happy tone. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything." She was silent for about a minute, flicking her bangs out of her eyes as she waited.

She started fiddling with her nails next, but eventually she spoke. "Yeah, I just called because, like, I remembered our discussion after the class meeting, right?" She said, referencing when Daehyun has asked her to get the other students to leave Youngjae alone. "Yeah, well, I decided to go check up on scholarship boy to see if it was all true and how he was fairing and..."

She was quiet for a little while, listening while Min could only sit there and try to keep Youngjae calm. "Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying." Suzy said, the niceness in her voice gone such that she sounded very serious instead. "I know, we already came up with one. Min tells it better than me."

With a sigh, Min took the phone, again she listened for a bit before responding. "Oh no, that's not what happened at all, Daehyun, I promise." Min said with a lilting note in her voice. "Yes, I talked to Youngjae, he's just so heart-broken right now. Really, it's heart-wrenching." She was quiet for just a second. "Of course, I'll explain for him though, because he's a bit too upset right now to talk on the phone. Poor boy's been crying for weeks over you."

Min gave him a thumbs up and a small smile before telling the story she had constructed. "Oh, he liked you so much, Daehyun. He still does, he was only trying to play hard to get; he heard bad boys like you like a bit of a chase. But then you started threatening to fuck him right then and there, over a desk no less! Poor baby thought you didn't really like him, and he was scared that you were really going to do it. You know how these genius kids are, so awkward and unsure with people. He's really sorry now, though, because now he knows you didn't mean it. He's so heart-broken, losing his first love like that. Really, that's it. It's sad, isn't it? Alright, I'll give you back to Suzy then."

Suzy talked with Daehyun for longer, leaving the room as she did so that Min and Youngjae wouldn't know what she and Daehyun were discussing.

"What's going to happen?" Youngjae asked quietly, unsure. He was just hoping whatever this plan was would make all the torture he was going through stop. Anything seemed better than this. Maybe that was a fatal mistake.

Min hummed in response, her voice calm because she didn't want Youngjae crying again. "Suzy is going to fix things." She told him softly.

"But I'm going to belong to Daehyun? I'm going to have to belong to him?" Youngjae asked, scared of his fellow student. What would Daehyun do to him once Youngjae was his? He seemed to have some pretty awful ideas when he cornered Youngjae in that classroom.

"Yes." Min told him. "That's what Suzy is doing right now, making those arrangements. You're going to have to belong to him."

"How does he treat the people he's claimed?" Youngjae asked.

Min bit her lip, trying to think but coming up with nothing. "I don't think he's ever claimed anyone before. He's never shown the interest. People try to get him to claim them every year, since it'll be good for their parents' businesses, but he never pays attention to them. Honestly, I didn't believe it when I heard he called dibs on you, I thought it must be a prank or something." She thought for a bit longer. "He's controlling, though, and possessive. I imagine that's what it'll be like. So long as you do what he wants, I doubt he'll do much to you. Everything is just a power play to him."

"So if I'm just submissive and if I do the things he tells me too, he won't hurt me?" Youngjae asked. "I can manage to be like that, so long as it means things are better for me than they are now." They chatted for a little while longer before Suzy came in with instructions on how tomorrow would go, and another anonymous mass text went out containing a very interesting rumor.

 

Youngjae dressed himself in the last outfit he owned, everything else having been damaged beyond repair. His glasses had a piece of tape around the bridge holding them together and the lenses were cracked. He looked shabby, tired, and scared. But he also looked cute and sad like he was supposed to and he was nervous and on the edge of tears enough that he could probably play his role well. He would be Daehyun's if it meant everything would be okay.

In his own dorm, which was more of a mansion he shared with Himchan and Yongguk, Daehyun was assessing his own appearance. Finally, he'd be getting what he wanted. He'd be getting what was his. He was wearing a plain black t-shirt and ripped jeans, and he felt like he looked cool as always. He wanted to look good for his Youngjae. It sounded so wonderful:  _his_. Youngjae was all his and he was never going to share again, never ever. Like a child with a shiny new toy, Daehyun would hoard the cute student all to himself. The more Daehyun thought of it, the more he liked that analogy. Youngjae was his new toy, and only Daehyun got to play with him or touch him. They could look, sure, but you see with your eyes, not your hands, as his preschool teacher used to say.

And sure, it was his doing, but Daehyun was upset that people had touched Youngjae already. They had touch  _his toy, his Youngjae!_  He'd see to it that every single one that did awful things to his Youngjae would be punished for going against him like that. He's get his poor, innocent little Youngjae to point them out like a good pet and then he'd give them hell.

Daehyun was just so thrilled Youngjae liked him back. At first he had thought that story Min had told him was just an excuse, but soon enough he realized that was ridiculous, the story made complete sense! Those genius boy were known to not understand social situations, right? It all made sense.

 _Of course_  Youngjae liked him back, Daehyun was literally perfect for him! He'd love him and buy him nice things and keep those awful classmates who hurt him away. But of course the poor, awkward boy didn't understand that Daehyun didn't like playing games like that. He was a little upset with himself, he should have known what Youngjae was trying to do and should have refrained from scaring him. It was okay, Suzy and Min had made things right.

He would have done something to repay them, but Suzy said his happiness was enough. Really, this school year was shaping up to be wonderful, and Daehyun was thrilled.

Daehyun was too eager to get to class and to get what was his. He had gotten the anonymous mass text last night, spreading the rumor that scholarship boy had a crush on the elusive Jung Daehyun, and was going to ask to be claimed by him. Walking across campus, he could see everyone absolutely buzzing with the news, because Daehyun had never agreed to claim anyone before, but then again he had called dibs a month ago.

Once he got to class, he pulled out his phone, but rather than texting or playing games, he opened the text message from last night and just stared at it again for a long time. His face felt a little hot and he was internally bouncing in his seat in excitement for his new toy.

Externally, however, he looked as bored and uninterested with life as always. Everyone was looking at him, so curious to see if Daehyun was about to join them in destroying the scholarship student or put their failed efforts to rest. Either way, his policy of not getting involved was close to ending because now it seemed unavoidable for him to be involved.

When Youngjae walked in, he looked nervous and scared, cradling a pretty little one-person cake in his hands, which was decorated cutely. On the off chance that Daehyun would say yes to Youngjae and claim him, everyone had pretty much left the scholarship student alone this morning, besides Suzy who came to make sure he understood exactly what he was doing and to give him that cake for Daehyun. The older could tell just from the look of it that Suzy's cook made it, but he guessed Youngjae had begged her for help since he couldn't afford a gift.

Youngjae gulped as he approached Daehyun, who looked like he really didn't care and like he might fling the cake into Youngjae's face for what he did a month ago. His hands were shaking and he thought he might puke or cry. All he wanted was to go to a good school and be left alone. What had his life turned into?

He bowed in front of Daehyun offering the little cake carefully like the sacred peace-offering it was. "I-I really like you." Youngjae stuttered out nervously. "I want to be yours." He added softly. A couple students around them snickered, but more just watched on with wide eyes, waiting to see what would come of this. They were in with Youngjae on this in their nervousness.

Daehyun look the cake from Youngjae's hands and placed it on the desk in front of him gently, to be eaten once lecture started, wagging on finger in front of him like he was calling a dog so that Youngjae would come closer. When the younger did, Daehyun pulled him forward by the wrist harshly, yanking on his knees immediately after so that Youngjae fell straddling his lap. The younger was freaking out at this point, not sure what was going on or if Daehyun intended to do something awful to him or not. Daehyun leaned forward then, something unreadable on his face as it got so close that Youngjae shut his eyes tight, waiting for lips to smash into his.

Instead there was lips on his neck, leaning a soft kiss there that his classmates cheered for. Then Daehyun was groping his ass, those lips turning harsh as he scraped his teeth against, licked, and sucked on that small area of Youngjae's neck until he was sure there would be a mark there, warning off everyone from touching Youngjae.

When Daehyun's lips pulled away, Youngjae wanted to cry. There he was, back to being Jung Daehyun's whore all because he was too stupid to realize what the only good option had been. Or maybe it was just the least bad option, that probably made more sense.

The older seemed to notice the tears bubbling up in the back of Youngjae's eyes, and pulled the boy forward to hide his face in his shoulder before anyone else could see. Hesitantly, Youngjae reached up to wrap his arms around Daehyun's neck, but otherwise he did not move. "Aw, don't worry baby." Daehyun laughed, his voice teasing. "We'll have plenty of time to play later." He said it loud enough for everyone to hear, so that they would all laugh, but then, quietly while they were to busy laughing to hear, he whispered. "I'll make it real at lunch today, I promise." He believed Youngjae was upset because he wanted to  _really_  belong to Daehyun, not just be someone for Daehyun to fuck _._  He wasn't entirely wrong.

When the teacher walked in, he glared at the two of them like he thought Daehyun had forced Youngjae into something, he was entirely correct. But Daehyun got Youngjae to sit in the desk next to his and no one seemed to do much to the poor scholarship student after that so there wasn't anything for him to do or say. When he caught Youngjae's eye, the boy just smiled like he was genuinely happy, and so the teacher decided it was probably nothing bad and started lecture.

Daehyun walked Youngjae out of class seconds after the bell rang, not giving the younger any time to stay after and talk with the professor like he normally would. He walked the younger to his second class, something possessive in the way his arm was wrapped around Youngjae's shoulders., that hickey still and angry red that promised to bruise later like the mark of belonging it was. Everyone seemed to stare as they walked by, but minutes later their phones were buzzing with those anonymous mass texting saying scholarship boy Youngjae was now Daehyun's whore.

When they got to Youngjae's next class, Daehyun followed him in, sitting on Youngjae desk with one foot on his chair and the other hanging. "We'll have to move you into my dorm after your last class today." Daehyun said, his voice coming out as if he was bored and uninterested. "Your room is too small and cramped, and I want to be able to see you whenever I feel like it without inconvenience. How long will it take you to pack up?"

It wasn't even a question of if Youngjae was willing to move into Daehyun's dorm or not, Youngjae noted Daehyun had already decided for him. "Most of my stuff was destroyed, so not longer than twenty minutes." He said softly, knowing that it was best to just do what Daehyun wanted and not fight him on this.

"That's not necessarily the worst thing. We'll order better clothes for you tonight. Anything else major that was broken?" Daehyun asked, still entirely uninterested in the conversation, it seemed. Not it was reminding Youngjae of all of the students that offered him new clothes or new things if he'd let them fuck him. That was what was going on, wasn't it? "Give me your phone number and you can just text it to me. I'll have someone take care of it."

"My phone was smashed." Youngjae replied sadly. At least he was getting new clothes, apparently. Maybe Daehyun would let him borrow his phone to call his parents.

Daehyun nodded. "When you go back to your room, get the card from it so we can stick it in your new one. What kind do you want?"

Daehyun had pulled out his phone because he was so uninterested, although he was actually just checking the anonymous texts to see if they said anything else about him and Youngjae. If they did, Daehyun would kill Yongguk. Luckily the elder had cut the gossip there. "Um," Youngjae said. "Well, like, at the store they had ones with a camera, but I couldn't afford it so..."

"You're telling me you had a flip phone?" Daehyun asked, since that's the only way a phone wouldn't have a camera. "And on top of that, it was a flip phone without a camera?" Youngjae nodded. "It's a good thing they broke that crime against modern technology." Daehyun grumbled to himself. "I'll get you a better one."

"It's okay." Youngjae mumbled. "You don't need to spend money on me, I'm good with what I have."

Daehyun laughed. "You say that like money is something hard for me to come by, Youngjae. I probably got more for allowance when I was seven than your father has earned in his whole life." He dropped it there, going back to his phone. After a couple seconds he added. "Did they break your laptop too? Don't tell me you had a desktop."

"I don't have a computer." Youngjae answered quietly, his face red. "I used to use the ones in the library back home if I needed one."

Daehyun just looked at him in shock for a long time, his face entirely blank besides maybe a hint of confusion. "When you meet my father, be sure to tell him that." He said, flicking his hair out of his eyes.

"Why?" Youngjae asked in confusion.

"I'll see you at lunch." Daehyun answered like he hadn't been listening, getting off the desk and walking out of the room. Every other student seemed to be staring at him, but less leering than normal. They looked pleading, even, as if they were worried Youngjae would do something to them.

Class was long and interesting, and the group of girls that had torn up his notebooks each gave him one of theirs with lowered eyes and slightly shaking hands. It was like they were scared of him all of a sudden, or maybe it wasn't Youngjae. He realized, they were scared he'd convince Daehyun to do something to them. If Daehyun was already buying him excessive gifts just for being with him, who knows what he'd get Youngjae as a reward for letting him fuck him? Of course they didn't know that Youngjae had no plans of that. He doubted he'd even sell out any of them to Daehyun either. All he wanted was to be left alone.

With his backpack that was barely clinging together thrown over his shoulders, now a bit heavier from the notebooks he had been given, Youngjae took his hesitant walk to lunch. Normally he'd sneak around on a winding path that took forever in order to avoid everyone. Suddenly, it occurred to him that maybe he didn't have to anymore. Maybe he could walk across the quad with all of the other students there and no one would jump him.

He decided to test it. Breathing in a deep breath, he took a hesitant step out of the building and onto the path outside that went cross campus to the dining hall. There were plenty of other students there but most didn't even look at him, still that fear. Others stared at him outright, something flashing in their eyes that made him feel self-conscious. Maybe they were wondering what he had done to make Daehyun want him so badly, to be honest he questioned that himself. Halfway through his walk, he thought he was in the clear. They were leaving him alone, he was close to crying in relief!

But then he was shoved harshly from behind so that he fell to his knees. whoever had shoved him did so again so that he was on his hands and knees and Youngjae felt those tears prickling up as they grinded up behind him. He had thought he'd never be in this position again, he never wanted to be in this position again.

He could feel them pulling away abruptly, but it wasn't until he heard the loud smacking noise that he realized someone had pulled them off him. The poor student took a second to compose himself so that he wouldn't cry in front of everyone before he stood and bowed to the person who had helped him. He could see several of his classmates on their phones now, and he prayed they hadn't taken pictures of that awful moment.

Shakily, he just collected himself and walked away. It was all for nothing! Sure, more people were leaving him alone, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to be humiliated like this and now there was no way out. Now, if he turned Daehyun down, things would only get worse. He wanted to break down crying.

Youngjae didn't, he just took deep breaths as he walked, keeping his eyes to the ground as he rushed the rest of the way to campus, carefully avoiding every other human being. He just wanted to scream and cry and give up, none of it was worth it! He wanted to go home! Digging his nails into his palms, he tried to convince himself it was an improvement. He tried to convince himself that a handful of people being awful was better than everyone being awful. But then of course his mind would factor in the different kinds of awful and their direct relation to how he was feeling and he'd get so algorithmic that he forgot why he was upset. That was how Youngjae coped: turn everything into math.

When he walked into the lunchroom, he pretty quickly located Daehyun leaning against the wall talking to some girl. Her eyes flickered over to Youngjae before she kept talking a sweet smile on her face as she tried to step closer. Daehyun didn't even seem to notice, instead reacting to something she said, pulling out his phone and typing furiously. Looking around, Youngjae saw several people look on in terror at Daehyun and then at their phones, sighing in relief. Youngjae didn't understand.

Instead, he went to stand nearby and waited patiently like a good little dog. He was still shaking a bit, and quickly after Daehyun saw him, he looked like he was about to approach. But then, Yongguk stepped in front of him though, that same cold look on his face he always had. He nodded towards the door and started pulling Youngjae by the wrist. The younger looked wide-eyed and scared at Daehyun, who only nodded at him as if to tell him to go ahead. He didn't know what to do or what to say but he thought something awful was about to happen to him as Yongguk dragged him into a bathroom and ordered everyone in there to get out.

"Let me see your hands." Yongguk said once the bathroom was empty. "Your knees too, roll up your pants above your knees." Youngjae complied because he was afraid, entirely unsure of what was going on. Yongguk spent a couple seconds inspecting him before telling him he could pull the pants legs back down.

"What's going on?" He dared asking.

Yongguk leaned up against the sink, something odd in his eyes. "Daehyun just found out about... well, what happened on your way here, I guess. I was checking to make sure you weren't injured before he through a hissy fit, although..." Yongguk pulled Youngjae's glasses off his face. "These are broken..." Youngjae took them back from the older because he couldn't see without them.

"They've been like that for a while, I don't even notice anymore." He dismissed it. "What's he going to do to me?" He asked fearfully.

"Well, probably buy you new glasses. Or maybe contacts. I could see him buying you contacts and empty glasses frames." He shrugged. "You should be more interested in what's happening to the guy that shoved you, since at least twenty people texted Daehyun the same name, as well as for the guy that pulled him off and punched him."

"What's going to happen to them?" Youngjae dared.

"Two hours from now, the kid who shoved you will either be entirely bankrupted or close to it. Daehyun's father is very prone to following his son's wishes, and Daehyun's not a fan of people touching his things. The kid who punched him is on the tail-end as far as wealth in this school goes, Daehyun will see to it he's bumped up marginally closer to the middle." Yongguk said. "And it will be an example for everyone to leave you alone. They won't hurt you anymore."

Youngjae still felt like crying. "Does he still even want me though? Why would he, it's not like he's getting anything from having me." Youngjae wanted to be left alone. He wanted to be as far from Daehyun as possible. He didn't want this good luck to end though, because apparently Daehyun was protecting him.

"Trust me, kid, he still wants you." Yongguk answered. "Now, that buzzing in my pocket can only mean that Daehyun is currently sending me a text telling me to hurry up with checking on you, so we should go back to the dining hall." He paused for a second, his face softening to a very different expression than his normal one. "Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine." Youngjae assured, but even he did not believe those words. Yongguk lead him back to the dining hall then, parting as soon as they entered so Youngjae could go wait against the wall, as Suzy had told him he should, for Daehyun to claim him.

The older was there in only a minute or two, that same cold, uninterested expression on his face like always. He stepped forward, until he was too close to Youngjae and in his mind the younger was chanting that he wanted Daehyun nowhere near him, but this was the best option. Daehyun was standing close now, trying to contain excitement and anger, reminding himself that no one would ever touch his Youngjae again.

Hot breaths puffed against his ear as Daehyun leaned in to whisper. "Are you sure Youngjae? There is no saying no this time, when I kiss you, you will kiss back." His tone was serious, harsh.

Youngjae offered his hands shyly, whispering back. "I want to be yours."

Daehyun hummed, whispering, "Say that louder. Say it so the rest of them, all of them, can hear you." He pulled away a little, just enough that Youngjae could see how firm the order was in his eyes.

He presented his wrists again. "I want to be yours." He said, louder now, so that most of the dead quiet lunchroom could hear him. "Please."

Youngjae was terrified. What if Daehyun just laughed and walked away after making Youngjae say it? What if this was their next awful prank trying to force him to quit? Was it even worth it? Maybe he should push Daehyun away, maybe he should just leave this school instead. He sucked in a harsh breath as Daehyun grabbed his wrists in one hand. But he wasn't holding tightly like last time. It was clear to everyone, Daehyun was barely even touching Youngjae. It would be easy to get away.

The older leaned in, his other hand resting on Youngjae's waist as he forced their mouths together and forced his tongue in. Youngjae didn't want to be kissed like this, he didn't want to belong to Daehyun. He wanted to be left alone. But the decision to push Daehyun away or say yes was coming up fast.

Daehyun kissed him until he was content. Then, he let go of Youngjae's hands.


	4. Chapter 4

Youngjae was not an idiot. He was a genius, actually. He had done all the calculations and weighed all the pros and cons in a split second before he reached up carefully, gently like he was nervous, and rested his hands on Daehyun's shoulders like light feather touches. He knew how to behave even, given how Daehyun had treated him today, and as the kiss continued through the sounds of cheers and whistles of the dining hall, Youngjae's hands turned to cling to Daehyun's shirt like he just needed Daehyun that badly. He was disgusted, he wanted to cry, and he wanted to run away, but he did none of those things. He just did his best to act like an innocent boy in love, hesitant that he might mess things up.

He wanted the kiss to stop, but Daehyun didn't seem to want to let up soon. Daehyun wanted to keep going and Youngjae would see to it that he swallowed his pride and gave Daehyun anything he wanted if it meant safety and being left alone. Youngjae had realized that going home wouldn't fix this, these people could find him like that easily.

Daehyun pushed him further into the wall, a hand tangling in Youngjae's hair so he could force the younger's head to an angle he liked better and more effectively shove his tongue down Youngjae's throat. Youngjae let out a little whimpering sound involuntarily as he struggled to breath, but it only seemed to goad Daehyun into shoving his knee between Youngjae's legs to rub up against his crotch. Youngjae let out another little whimpering sound, voluntary this time, because it seemed to make Daehyun happy and that was important at the moment. Make Daehyun happy, give him anything he wants.

He didn't know how long he let Daehyun kiss him before it finally ended and Daehyun pulled away to look at Youngjae's blushed red face. The older student didn't even smile, just turning and walking away like he knew Youngjae would follow. Youngjae ducked his head in embarrassment, following Daehyun to the older's usual table, where Yongguk, Himchan, Suzy, and Min were sitting, although an extra seat had been dragged over this time so that Youngjae would have somewhere to sit.

Daehyun, Himchan, and Suzy all talked together, but Youngjae noticed Yongguk and Min were quiet, so he took a page from them and didn't speak. He just sat back and ate the lunch that had been bought for him, savoring the yummy taste and the fact that no one was trying to throw it on the ground. This was better, he told himself. Belonging to Daehyun was better than the alternative and so there was no use doing anything else. He felt a hand resting on his thigh, and before he looked he knew it was Daehyun next to him, rubbing soft circles on his inner thigh as if he really cared about Youngjae. But at the same time it was hidden, no one would no that Daehyun was doing anything but feeling Youngjae up because they wouldn't be able to see. Min was giving him a pointed look, before shifting her eyes to Daehyun's shoulder, so the younger laid his head down and cutely pursed his lips.

Daehyun looked down at the head causing the sudden weight on his shoulder, and Youngjae smiled cutely up at him in hopes it would disguise how entirely un-okay he was feeling with this whole situation. He just hoped he was being convincing. Daehyun seemed to think so, because he responded by rubbing his hand up and down Youngjae's thigh for a couple seconds before he went back to what he was doing before. On the outside they must have looked like a very cute couple, with Daehyun being the one less into it than Youngjae.

Lunch went on like that, and then Daehyun walked Youngjae to his third class, saying he'd send someone to help Youngjae carry his stuff over and take him to Daehyun's dorm after his fourth class. He seemed more distant now, like he might just ignore Youngjae's existence when he wasn't fucking him. Youngjae thought he could deal with that. All he wanted was to be alone in the first place. If that's what Daehyun want too it would be perfectly okay.

His classes were able to keep his attention away from his life for the first time in a while. Both of his teacher's seemed to notice Youngjae didn't look like he was crying for once, and the other students seemed to be leaving him alone. They probably thought the other students had given up on making his life awful because he had lasted long enough that he probably wasn't leaving. That's what typically happened, Youngjae just happened to be an atypical case. It should be okay, though. Youngjae thought things could be looking up for him now, given how Daehyun didn't really seem to want anything from him. If the older decided he wanted sex, it could be a problem, Youngjae wasn't ready for that yet, but he imagined one day he'd be able to just close his eyes and let it happen in the interest of keeping this safety net over him.

At the end of his fourth class, and older looking man was waiting outside for him. "I'm one of Daehyun's staff." The man said. "I was instructed to carry your things back to his dorm." Youngjae just gulped and nodded, letting the man follow him back to his room where all of his belongings were lying in a destroyed pile on the ground. The student pulled out his suitcase from where he had hidden, and picked out whatever looked vaguely salvageable. He remembered to get the card out of his destroyed phone like Daehyun had said, sliding it into his pocket. The suitcase barely had anything in it, just a shirt and some books, and a singular picture of his family that wasn't so destroyed that he couldn't keep it.

The man collected everything else into a garbage bag and took both from Youngjae, some amount of pity in his eyes at how desolate everything seemed to be. Youngjae felt like crying as he left that room behind him, although he was unsure if it was from worry or relief. He had no good memories in that room, and something about him felt freer knowing he was leaving those desolate conditions. Some other part of him felt like he had sold his soul.

The dorm he lived in was the cheapest one, of course, so it was also the farthest from the school buildings. Daehyun seemed to live much closer to the school buildings, down a small path lined with cherry trees that gave way to a large house. Youngjae assumed at first that it must be divided up into several separate dorms, it was big enough for maybe fifty or a hundred. But then he remembered who he was moving in with, and was entirely unsurprised to realize the mansion was only divided into two dorms. He noted that he could see Yongguk through the window of the other half as he approached the half that must belong to Daehyun, ducking his head as he walked past the servant and into the mansion.

It was breath-taking and spotless, a beautiful, old-fashion decor and high ceiling. Youngjae was a little amazed he got to stay here, although he didn't doubt he'd be thrown into some basement room like he was in his old dorm. "Daehyun is usually in the kitchen," The man told him, pointing down the hall. "I'll take your backpack and your stuff upstairs." Youngjae thanked the man, bowing and giving his bag before heading off to where Daehyun would be.

He took a deep-breath, reminding himself of the character he was meant to be playing and burying away those tears that had stung at the back of his eyes on the walk over. Once he was sure he was ready, he entered the kitchen where Daehyun was, munching away at something as he scrolled on a laptop and talked to someone on the phone. "Yeah, basically just assume he has no clothing whatsoever and go from there. I think he's embarrassed that he needs me to buy it for him though, so don't buy anything too fancy. Even if I'm okay with spending the extra money, I think it will upset him to think I spent a lot. Thank you, goodbye." Youngjae walked in once Daehyun hung up the phone, placing his phone down on the table and going back to scrolling through his computer.

The older looked up to see him and a small smile spread on his face, reaching his arms to Youngjae. "Come here." He said happily, looking and acting very much different than he did at school.

Youngjae hesitantly stepped forward until he filled Daehyun's arms, being pulled down to sit in the elder's lap gently, facing the table as Daehyun rubbed his face into the juncture between Youngjae's shoulder and neck. He pecked the skin there before resting his chin on Youngjae's shoulder, squeezing the younger's sides a bit as he hugged him. "How are you feeling?"

"Overwhelmed." Youngjae mumbled truthfully, though he let himself lean back against Daehyun's chest because he was meant to be pretending to like him. The next thing he said was a lie, but a necessary one. "Happy." He added, leaning his head against Daehyun's for just a second.

Daehyun nodded against him, and Youngjae was confused by the extreme difference between Daehyun now, and the cold Daehyun at school. This Daehyun seemed to be sweet and gentle, and he had honestly been questioning if Daehyun even liked him during school. "I ordered you new clothes. They'll be here in a couple of days, maximum." Daehyun said happily, "and your phone got here an hour ago."

"You really don't have to--" Youngjae started, but Daehyun cut him off.

"I want to." Daehyun said cutely, pushing out his bottom lip. Youngjae didn't want to risk upsetting him so he just nodded and looked down at his hands. He could hear a chair drag across the floor as Daehyun brought one close to his, letting Youngjae climb off his lap to sit there. He kept an arm around Youngjae's waist, gently stroking up and down the younger's side as a head rested on his shoulder. "I was just about to order your laptop actually, so no peaking. I want it to be a surprise." Youngjae obeyed and closed his eyes, relaxing a bit when he heard Daehyun laughing and felt someone kissing his head. "You're cute, Youngjae."

He would play the good boyfriend, play hopelessly in love. Suzy had told him that was his number one concern right now, convince Daehyun he really liked him too. "You're cute." He shot back childishly, trying to behave the way his brother's girlfriend did when she wanted something.

Daehyun smiled at him for a couple seconds, blindly, before he leaned in and connected their lips and to any onlookers they really must have looked like a cute, happy couple now. "I have a couple more things I want to surprise you with, so why don't you go upstairs and get unpacked while I order them?" Daehyun said softly before pecking his nose. "You're phone is waiting in your room for you too, you can play games with it if I take too long."

Youngjae was a little shocked to realize he'd be getting his own room; he was so sure he was going to have to share with Daehyun. "Would it be alright if I took a shower too?" He asked softly, wanting to wash the month's worth of grime off him. Sure, he'd been showering everyday, but he never showered for long because he was worried of someone coming in and so he never felt completely clean. It would be nice to just sit under the hot spray for a little while and pretend he was washing all of the awful things that had happened to him off him.

Daehyun nodded. "Of course. I'll have them bring you some clean clothes to wear." He answered, sounding even a little confused that Youngjae asked. "The bathroom attached to your room is already stocked and everything. Oh, and I'm sorry if your room is a bit small. This whole place is, actually." He seemed a bit sheepish.

"My room back home is practically a closet." Youngjae joked, "this place is huge, don't worry." He pecked Daehyun's cheek softly, like the person he was pretending to be would, and then stood to head off to his room. Given that a staff member followed him out and was now walking with him, he assumed he was being lead to it, since he didn't know the layout of the large house.

The room he was shown to was large and beautiful, with bright lighting and large windows. The woman that had lead him to the room said she would be right back with some of Daehyun's clothes for him to wear, and that she'd leave them on the counter in the bathroom for him so he shouldn't lock the door.

He walked through the other door in the room to see the large bathroom, ornate and pretty like everything else in this school. Youngjae was unaccustomed to it, and it made him feel a bit out of place as he pulled off his last pair of non-destroyed clothing and placed it in the hamper by the door. The shower was hidden from the door so that someone could be in the bathroom while someone was showering and not see anything, and this made Youngjae a bit more comfortable with the knowledge someone was going to bring clothes in here while he was showering.

In his shower back home, he'd have to wait about ten minutes for it to warm up, and then the warm water only lasted about five minutes before it was gone. Youngjae was surprised to find out that the water was warm from the start, and that even though he stayed in the shower for a long time it never got cold.

He washed himself slowly, but with determination, scrubbing every inch of his body carefully until he felt like he was cleaner. Then, he washed himself again, just because he didn't want to get out of the shower. Some sick part of him wondered if Daehyun would come in when he was showering, and force him on his knees so he could shove his cock down his throat. Maybe he'd pin him against the wall and take him from behind. Given how nice Daehyun was being to him, Youngjae didn't doubt he'd be forced into sex soon enough. That was the deal wasn't it? Youngjae didn't want to be a part of this deal, but it was his only option.

Eventually he shut the water off, feeling a bit better, especially since Daehyun did not come in at any point. He dried himself with one of the warm, fluffy towel sitting on the rack and dressed in the clothes that had been left for him. They were clearly Daehyun's clothes: a black shirt, black leather jacket, black jeans, and a black snapback. Youngjae wondered why Daehyun wore so much black, but dressed in it anyway because it wasn't like he had anything else to wear. His glasses were fogged up when he put them back on his face, but he was worried he would cut his fingers on the shattered pieces of the lenses if he tried to dry them. Outside, he found the phone Daehyun had bought him, brand new and clearly expensive.

He took a half second to figure it out before he was sliding his card in and letting the data from his old phone load onto the new one. Once it had, his first instinct was to text his parents, apologizing for not contacting sooner and telling them he loved them. He knew he couldn't call them because they'd be at work.

He didn't really knew what else to do with it, so he put it down and went to the bookshelf where he noticed his textbooks were. He was a bit behind in some of his classes, so he decided he might as well study and catch up while he was being left alone. Then he remembered, this was the point. This was the point of it all. No worries, no pain, no one bugging him or breaking his things. Youngjae could feel himself start to shake, quickly fighting off the emotional response in favor of seating himself at the desk and working.

Daehyun left him alone for another two hours, as if he knew Youngjae needed that time to himself. In reality, he was just taking care of things. The guy who had pushed Youngjae down and grinded on him was completely bankrupt now as far as stocks go, and Daehyun was sure the only money his family would have from now on would be whatever money they had saved in their bank accounts since Daehyun couldn't legally drain those.

Then came the case of the other guy involved. A classmate had even recorded the incident, and so Daehyun had clear evidence of what happened. An older student named Kwanghee had pulled the guy off Youngjae and punched him hard, knowing it would earn him a better reputation with Daehyun and Himchan. And Daehyun was quick to reward people who made him happy, so in addition to seeing that stocks for his father's company rose, Daehyun asked Himchan to send one of his friends to go see if she'd take him. The anonymous mass text had gone out twenty minutes ago that he and Sunhwa were now together.

Daehyun was finally able to relax now, feeling like he had managed everything he needed to. He had just gotten off the phone with Suzy, who told him his classmates thought he claimed Youngjae purely so they would no longer have any claim on him. Daehyun was okay with that. He needed to seem uncaring towards Youngjae, and toward anything and everything else. His father always told him that was the best way to appear terrifying to everyone, and fear was the best way to make sure people did as you wanted. There was one person Daehyun decided he wouldn't make fearful. The older student wanted Youngjae to rely on him, wanted to be his everything, so fear was not the tactic he'd use.

He was too busy living in his own little world to realize Youngjae was already afraid of him.

Eventually the elder came into Youngjae's room, flopping down on his bed and whining out a cute, "Jae, come here." When the younger turned to him, Daehyun stuck his lower lip out and raised one arm in a desperate little waving motion. Youngjae sighed, sad his peaceful alone time was over and worried about what Daehyun planned to do, and came over to lay down on the bed too. Daehyun was quick to pull the younger into his arms, laughing when the snapback smushed against the pillow. He pulled it off Youngjae's head and threw it to the end of the bed before snuggling close again, a little sigh of contentment leaving his lips when Youngjae wrapped his arms around him as well.

One of Daehyun's hands snaked under Youngjae's leather jacket to rub his back, while the other played with the strands of Youngjae's hair. The two moved in a synchronized rhythm as Daehyun felt the younger relax against him. "I hope it's okay." He mumbled softly, not wanting to push the younger to move too fast. In his twisted view of reality, that had been the problem after all. He had scared Youngjae by trying to go fast. "I just want to cuddle for a bit."

Youngjae nodded softly into Daehyun's neck, fingers resting lightly over either shoulder with his arms wrapped around Daehyun's neck. He was okay with something innocent like this, it made him feel comfortable. Safe, even. "That guy who pushed me down--" He started.

"Can't afford tuition anymore," Daehyun answered softly, not letting Youngjae finish. "He's gone now."

"Thank you." Youngjae mumbled softly, some amount of relief flooding him that Daehyun really would get rid of anyone that might hurt him. "Really, thank you." He could feel those tears of relief welling up in his eyes.

Daehyun nuzzled into him softly, and as afraid of the elder as Youngjae was, in this moment he felt safe. He felt more okay than he had since school started. "You don't need to thank me." Daehyun answered softly. "Not for anything, Youngjae. From now on, no one is going to hurt you, or touch you, or be mean to you. I'm going to protect you, and they're all going to leave you alone." For Daehyun, those words were possessive. Youngjae was  _his_  and he wasn't going to share or let anyone near the younger that might upset him. For Youngjae, they were a relief. All he wanted was to be left alone.

He didn't know how it bubbled up but it did, that overwhelming feeling that pushed tears into his eyes. Just like Min comforting him the day before, the soft, positive touch made Youngjae feel safe enough to let those tears fall. There was something about being around someone that seemed to care that made it so much easier to cry.

So he did. Sobbed, really. His whole body shook and his hands tangled tight into the shoulders of Daehyun's shirt to keep the older from going away. Daehyun just shushed him softly, continuing with his comforting movements as he did his best to help Youngjae work through it.

Anyone who went near his Youngjae again, Daehyun would end them.

"It's okay now." Daehyun assured him softly. "You're going to be okay. I'll protect you from them. Anyone who bothers you, just tell me and I'll see to it that they're gone. Anyone, Youngjae. Anything." It was a soft promise, one that worried Youngjae.

"Why would you be so nice to me?" He asked; he needed to know. It didn't make sense. He was still crying, it was hard to stop now that he had started.

"Because we're in love." Daehyun said simply, and Youngjae realized how skewed Daehyun's world view must be to have actually believed Min's lie that Youngjae loved him. But it should be to his advantage, right? Yes, that's what Youngjae use to justify lying.

He gulped, making sure to work up a cute, surprised voice as he played his role well. "You love me back?" He asked hopefully, He didn't love Daehyun. He wanted nothing to do with the older male. But at the same time, pretending to love Daehyun was better than suffering through everything else he had suffered through. He could pretend to love Daehyun if it meant everyone else would leave him alone. He wasn't even in it for the free stuff, Youngjae really just wanted to feel safe again.

"Of course I do, Jae." Daehyun promised, and Youngjae faked an excited squeak as he clung onto Daehyun tighter. Yes, he could do this, he could pretend. If it meant he was safe, he could do it. "Stop asking silly questions." He teased, pecking Youngjae's hair.

Youngjae nodded and then buried his face into Daehyun's shoulder a little more. Daehyun just held him, continuing comforting touches until Youngjae finished crying

The rest of his day was similar. Daehyun didn't want to let go of Youngjae, but he wasn't bothersome about it. He'd sit and play on his phone, holding Youngjae's hand while the younger studied. Or, when he was looking over things for one of their two shared classes, Daehyun would ask him to explain things. Youngjae found it a helpful study tool to explain things, he used to explain his homework to the posters on his walls when he was studying. As time wore on, Youngjae found himself caught up on all the work he hadn't done because he was too busy fearing for his life. But at the same time, he was worried if he admitted he was finished, Daehyun would want to start doing things.

"Do you want to go eat dinner?" Daehyun asked eventually, once Youngjae had studied through dinnertime and the older had grown impatient.

"I'm almost done." Youngjae answered softly. "Just give me a minute or two and--" Before he could finish his statement, Daehyun was gripping tightly onto his wrist and dragging him out of his chair.

"I'm hungry." Daehyun answered. "Let's go eat."

The older left no room for argument and Youngjae decided it would be better to go with it anyway. He hadn't actually been working on anything, just stalling because he was worried about what Daehyun would want to do to him once his work was done. Daehyun didn't le up on his harsh grip though, dragging Youngjae to the dining hall despite having a cook of his own. "Daehyun, you're hurting me." Youngjae whined, trying to sound cute.

"You're walking too slow." Daehyun retorted continuing to drag the younger. He didn't seem to be happy with him, so Youngjae decided to be quiet and just speed up so he was keeping pace with Daehyun, a little scared that Daehyun was back to being mean instead of sweet.

He was ordered to go sit down at an empty table while Daehyun got them food. Youngjae just lowered his eyes and did what he was told out of fear that something bad would happen to him otherwise. He didn't know what triggered the sudden mood shift in Daehyun, but guessed it was a combination of things. For one, Daehyun seemed to be treating him different publicly and privately; Youngjae would just have to wait for more data to confirm or deny that. Two, maybe the elder just was mean when he was hungry, again more data needed. Three, Youngjae hadn't immediately sprung to do what Daehyun wanted. This is what worried Youngjae, the other two could be processed and dealt with, but if Daehyun got angry when Youngjae didn't immediately do what he was asked then things could go poorly for him.

He was jolted out of his thoughts by someone sitting across from him, someone that wasn't Daehyun. He jumped a bit, moving his chair away from the unwelcome guest. "Look at me." The other student demanded in a deep voice, but Youngjae did not listen. "Look at me, you useless whore, or I'll drag you off and when Daehyun finds you he won't want you anymore."

Youngjae looked up, thinking he recognized the student but unsure. "What do you want?" He asked shakily. "You're supposed to leave me alone."

"Shut up," the student barked back at him. "What did you have to do to get Daehyun to get rid of me, then? Was sucking him off good enough or did you actually let him fuck you yet? Maybe you let him and Himchan stick their dicks up your ass at the same time, whores like you like that right? Did you have to fuck him for the clothes too or did that go hand in hand with shutting down my families company."

Youngjae recognized him now from the brief second he had seen him. It was the student that had pushed him down. He looked over to see if Daehyun was coming yet, but the older student seemed to still be picking out their food. "Please leave me alone." He pleaded quietly, closing his eyes.

"Don't I get a consolation gift, though?" The student mocked. "You're so ready to fuck everyone into giving you what you want, why not me?" Youngjae didn't answer, holding absolutely still with his eyes shut as he waited for the student to get more and go away. The opposite happened, he got angrier. "For generations my family has been working hard to get somewhere, and you can just whore your way into this school and destroy all of that just by being willing to drop to your knees and open your mouth!"

Youngjae flinched when the student stood up, walking to the other side on the table and yanking him off his chair by the hair. He was crying a little when his knees hit the floor and he knew what would happen next. In a last, desperate attempt to avoid what was happening, Youngjae cried out a scared, "Daehyunnie!"

The angry student seemed to take advantage of Youngjae's mouth being open to shove his crotch into it. Youngjae try to move away or close his mouth but he couldn't. This wasn't supposed to be happening, again, Youngjae thought. He had thought he had freed himself of this, except maybe with Daehyun who he could stand if it meant protection and being left alone. But no one was helping him, no one was acknowledging what was going on this time. Youngjae just cried and tried to get away as the student continued to curse at him.

It was only a couple of seconds later, the time it takes to cross from the register to where Youngjae had been sitting, before the student was pulled off Youngjae and punched. The poor student looked up with tears in his eyes to see Daehyun hitting his attacker again. The other student fell back and Daehyun spat at him. "He's my toy." He said cruelly. "You don't get to play with him."

Those words sent a chill up Youngjae's spine. Just a toy? That was bad for him, he needed Daehyun to love him. The more Daehyun loved him, the easier his life would be, and yet here was Daehyun saying he was just a toy.

Once Daehyun was content with beating the angry student, he grabbed Youngjae by the wrist and yanked him out of the dining hall forcefully, tears welling up in Youngjae's eyes at the harsh grip on his wrist and the rough movements. What was Daehyun going to do with him when he was this angry? Youngjae just prayed he'd comfort him because he was crying rather than try to assert his claim on Youngjae forcefully, before the younger was ready.

He was dragged into Daehyun's dorm and immediately thrown into a wall near the door. "Someone make us some dinner." Daehyun barked at the nearby servants, who ran off to follow orders.

Youngjae didn't move from the wall he was thrown up against, staring fearfully as Daehyun approached him with something dark in his eyes. A fist connected with the wood next to Youngjae's head and the younger flinched, whimpering loudly. He could tell a couple servants were watching nearby, staying hidden but concerned for his safety. "Why did you let him touch you?" Daehyun growled out. "What did he say?"

"I didn't." Youngjae pleaded softly. "I was trying to get away but he--"

"Shut up." Daehyun shouted, slamming his palms on either side of Youngjae's head. "What did he say to you?" He demanded.

"He called me a whore." Youngjae whimpered back, scared out of his wits. "Please, Daehyunnie, I was so scared. I didn't know what to do but I knew you were hungry so I didn't want to distract you and--" Youngjae made the mistake of reaching out for Daehyun, who instantly slammed his wrists against the wall and pinned them there.

"You are a whore, aren't you?" Daehyun asked cruelly. "You would have sucked him off if I hadn't come, right?" Youngjae shook his head furiously. "Then, what? Why were you on your knees?" He shouted.

"Because he pushed me down and I couldn't get up." Youngjae whined. In hopes of satiating the older a little and making this situation less volatile, he added a whimpering, "Daehyunnie, please. You know I only love you. I don't want anything to do with him or anyone else but I wasn't strong enough to fight back or I would have. I would have pushed him and ran to you but--"

Daehyun slapped him hard across the face, eliciting a whimper as Youngjae's head jerked to the side and his hand came up to hold his stinging cheek. "You were strong enough to fight back when it was me, though, weren't you?" Daehyun said cruelly.

Youngjae felt those tears flowing harder now, one hand still pinned the wall and the other holding his stinging cheek. "Please, Daehyunnie." He whimpered.

"Listen closely." Daehyun barked back at him, forcefully holding both of Youngjae's hands in one of his, pinned to the wall above his head. His other hand came to grip Youngjae's chin roughly, forcing the younger to look at him. His voice was calm but dark as he spoke next, sending terrified shivers up Youngjae's spine. "You are mine. Only mine. I do not share, not with anyone. Do not talk to other people. Do not look at other people. Do not let them touch you. If they come near you, walk away. If they talk to you, ignore them. The only one that is important to you anymore is me, and you will do as I want. Stay away from them, all of them. Even Himchan, Yongguk, Suzy, and Min. You are not allowed to talk to them. Don't even acknowledge they're there. Do you understand me?"

Youngjae nodded as much as Daehyun would allow him, before the older let go of him and stepped away towards the kitchen.

Youngjae's face still stung when he spoke up, terrified but hopeful he'd be able to lure the nice Daehyun back. He needed to develop a trick to get Daehyun to calm down when he got angry like this. "Daehyunnie." He called, sounding sad and concerned.

"What?" Daehyun growled back, clearly still fuming.

Youngjae shifted around awkwardly, trying to be cute as he lied. "I just... I... I... um... I love you." He whined out softly, hoping it would be enough.

He could hear Daehyun sigh. "Come here." The older ordered. Youngjae nodded and stepped forward until he was in front of Daehyun, keeping his eyes lowered until Daehyun tilted his chin up to meet eyes. "You're mine." He said forcefully.

"I'm only yours." Youngjae answered softly, and in seeing the way Daehyun calmed down, added. "I'm sorry."

Now, if Daehyun were a normal person, he'd say something like 'don't be, it's my fault, I shouldn't have yelled, I shouldn't have hit you' etc. but Daehyun was not normal. Instead he responded with a soft expression, "it's okay. I forgive you." Youngjae didn't know what he was being forgiven for but he was suddenly very worried.

Despite that he leaned forward, hesitantly, and connected their lips. Daehyun yanked him forward and kissed him harshly and Youngjae let him, just doing his best to kiss back when he could and not gag around Daehyun's tongue, which the older was apparently trying to shove down his throat. Just like at school, the kiss lasted much to long and Youngjae wanted to cry, but he didn't. He wanted to push Daehyun away, but instead he clung to him like he desperately needed him. Youngjae knew his role and he would play it well.


	5. Chapter 5

They sat together in the kitchen in silence, Daehyun gulping down his food while Youngjae didn't even touch his. He wasn't hungry, in fact, he felt sick to his stomach. This whole situation was bad, really bad. His cheek still stung and he sure it was red where Daehyun had slapped him about twenty minutes ago, most of the time after which was spent with Daehyun's tongue down his throat up until the cook called them in with a soft 'food's ready'. Since their fight, neither had said a word. Youngjae was shaking a little, and he could feel tears boiling up in his eyes out of fear that Daehyun would do something worse to him once they were done eating. He had just called him a toy, hadn't he? Hadn't he just lowered Youngjae to nothing?

Daehyun's phone buzzed, and when he answered it, he seemed to just list names. When he was finished, it seemed that he was being questioned, making a sour face as he listened. "I'm eating right now, could I call you back in a bit? I'll even video call you, and you can meet him." He was silent for a couple seconds. "Okay, love you too. Bye for now." He hung up, letting his phone drop to the table as if he had no concern over the expensive device breaking. Of course, he didn't. "We're going to video chat with my parents later. They're curious as to why I've been punishing so many people today."

Youngjae nodded and Daehyun noticed then how hard Youngjae was shaking and that the younger looked close to tears. Even more than that, he noticed the boy wasn't eating. Youngjae was just trying to keep himself from crying at this point, he wanted to put on a brave face. Maybe it would make things easier.

"Get him so ice for his cheek." Daehyun directed the cook, before turning to his shaking possession and pulling him into his arms. "Are you okay, Jae?" He asked softly, running fingers up and down the younger's back gently. "It's okay, Yongguk confirmed that the guy who did this is off campus now. The principal came and forcibly kicked him out after hearing what he did to you. You're safe now."

It was so confusing, because one moment Daehyun was yelling at him and hitting him and the next he was cradling the younger in his arms and treating him sweetly. "Why are you so nice to me if I'm just a toy?" Youngjae spat, pulling away from the hug to take the ice from the cook and hold it on his cheek.

Daehyun took the bag from him and held it to the other's cheek himself, gently as if he hadn't been the one to cause the injury. His other hand reached up to cup Youngjae's other cheek, so his face was between Daehyun's hands, unable to pull away. Despite how deadly the gesture really was, it look innocent from the outside as Daehyun leaned forward to kiss Youngjae's forehead. "You know I didn't mean that, Youngjae." He said softly, as if this were a real relationship and he was comforting his boyfriend who he actually cared about. "I have to convince them I don't like you. I have to convince them I have no feelings at all. Then, they'll fear me."

"Why do you want our classmates to fear you?" Youngjae asked, successfully stopping any tears from spilling so he could look into Daehyun's eyes.

"Because it means they'll do what I want them to." Daehyun answered. "Being rich isn't enough if they think I'll let them get away with things. If I'm ruthless and emotionless and care about no one then they will fear what I'll do to them for doing something against me. And if that's the case, then none of them will touch you, or go near you, or hurt you ever again. Please don't believe those harsh things I'll say in public; I don't mean them, I promise. I love you, Youngjae, and everything I do is to protect you." Again, Youngjae mused that Daehyun could win an Emmy for his stellar acting abilities.

Youngjae just hoped his acting was on par. "Daehyunnie," he whined softly, cutely, before he reached his arms up like he wanted another hug. Daehyun was quick to comply, still rubbing Youngjae's back gently as he leaned in to peck the younger's neck.

"Say it back." The older said suddenly, a bit of an order in his tone. Youngjae kept himself from jumping or showing any signs of fear.

Instead he let out a soft giggle like his brother's girlfriend would do when she wanted something from him, again trying to adopt that nature. "I love you too." He said, pulling away just a little to peck Daehyun's cheek. The older seemed calm again from there just humming softly and petting Youngjae's hair.

Eventually, he pulled away, pecking Youngjae's forehead lightly. "Come on, eat before your food gets cold or the cook might think you didn't like it and get upset." He said gently. "I'll tell my parents we'll call them some other time, too, okay? If you're still upset, I want to spend the rest of the day making sure you're alright. They'll understand." He was stroking Youngjae's back again as he turned back to his food to start eating again.

Youngjae was again confused by Daehyun's sweetness, but decided it was easily manipulated. He just had to not interact with anyone other than the older student and ignore how Daehyun acted in public. From there, so long as he kept up this act of being in love it would be okay.

Youngjae sighed and gulped down his food, still feeling a bit like he might puke, but not wanting to test what would happen if he didn't comply to Daehyun's wishes. Especially now that he knew the other was specifically trying to make his classmates fear him so they'd do what he wants, Youngjae decided it was safer to do just that - whatever Daehyun wants.

They finished eating in silence, and from there Daehyun grabbed Youngjae's hand and pulled him to go upstairs. He was expecting to go back to his room, but instead Daehyun pulled him further down the ornate hall to the door at the end, which when opened revealed a large and well decorated bedroom that Youngjae guessed to be Daehyun's he took it in for a second, letting the older student pull him inside. But with the shutting door, he realized what danger being in this room when Daehyun was upset could bring. "D-Dae, I don't want to -"

Daehyun hushed him, stepping forward to pet the younger's hair, playing with the strands. "Don't worry." He said softly. "I just want to cuddle for a bit and maybe watch a movie. I promise I won't push you to move faster than what you're ready for." It was so odd that that was what Daehyun was saying, when a month ago he had pinned Youngjae to a door and threatened to fuck him over a desk. In the end, it was a testament to Daehyun already owning Youngjae.

Youngjae relaxed a bit; earlier when Daehyun said he wanted to cuddle that's all they did, so he guessed this was the same. He reached over and hugged Daehyun, although he wasn't entirely sure why. He assured himself quickly it's because he was playing a boy in love and this is what that boy would do. Daehyun was humming a soft tune, one he seemed to come up with himself. It was the same tune he had hummed before, when sitting at the dinner table trying to comfort Youngjae. He coupled it with the one hand playing with Youngjae's hair and the other running up and down the small of Youngjae's back, the slow motions driving Youngjae to relax for real, as if he actually felt safe there in Daehyun's arms.

Just like the two other times Youngjae had felt safe lately, tears built up in his eyes. The first time they were out of fear, the second relief, and now he was unsure which it was as his whole body started to shake and tears started spilling from his eyes. Daehyun just kept up his humming and comforting touches, rocking them a bit where they stood.

A couple minutes later, when Youngjae had seemed to stop crying, he lifted him and carried him to the bed, laying the younger down gently and climbing into the bed next to him so he could pull him to his chest. He then rolled them down the large, comfy bed until they were in the center, on their sides with Youngjae cradled in Daehyun's arms. "It's all okay now, baby." Daehyun promised, his voice soft as he broke his calming humming temporarily to speak. "I'm going to take good care of you and keep you safe from anyone who would do bad things to you." He murmured, kissing Youngjae's head. He  _had_  just lowered the stock of the few people in the lunch room when Youngjae had been assaulted, as they hadn't done anything to stop it and Daehyun viewed that as a personal slight.

It was silent for just a second as Youngjae pulled his head away to look in Daehyun's eyes. As wrong and crazy as Daehyun was, he was keeping Youngjae safe. He felt like after today, no one would mess with him again. So that small driving force boiled up in him again, demanding that he please Daehyun in order to keep things on a positive upturn. "Thank you." He murmured, and some part of him realized it was genuine. He really was thanking Daehyun, because the abuse may very well have been stopping right then and there. He leaned forward the handful of centimeters it took to connect their lips.

Daehyun clearly wanted more from the kiss when it started, seeming to want his tongue down Youngjae's throat again. But Youngjae kept his lips and he teeth shut tight so the older couldn't force what he wanted on the younger. Soon enough, he seemed to have decided to go with it, letting Youngjae kiss him how he pleased. Daehyun had a simple line of thought for this, he'd be able to measure what Youngjae's comfort level was and then keep himself from crossing it. He had had a lengthy discussion with Himchan the night before on what to do to keep Youngjae happy so they wouldn't run into the problems they had a month ago, and while the older firmly believed Youngjae's story was fake, he went with it just to please Daehyun.

Youngjae had never really kissed anyone before. Daehyun had been his first kiss, and every kiss after that one had been hell, so in comparison this one was nice. Their lips were moving softly against each other and Daehyun was still petting his back and slowly Youngjae could feel his entire body raise in temperature. He knew what that meant, but took it all in stride. He was experimenting in those moments. Experimenting on what, he did not know, however, he just was testing what he liked and what felt good, so that when Daehyun insisted on the  _payment_ for all his kindness, Youngjae could try to convince him to do it in a way he liked. Maybe he could make this pleasant for the both of them, and then anything particularly negative would be removed from his life. He was convinced Daehyun hitting him had been a one time occurrence, as well, so if this worked out then he really would have nothing to complain over.

Hesitant fingers reached up to cup Daehyun's cheeks as he continued the kiss, ready to hold the older back if he tried to make things to intense. Then, Youngjae let his lips part just the slightest bit and lapped gently at Daehyun's lower lip. The older had busied himself with learning what the younger liked as much as the younger had, so he held still and waited as much as he wanted his tongue in Youngjae's mouth again. It was uncharacteristically kind of Daehyun to be so concerned with someone else's feelings, but this was  _his_ precious Youngjae and making the boy happy was high on his priority list. The only thing that was higher was his own happiness, which Daehyun always put first. Lips parted for the younger, who was gentle and hesitant as he let his tongue slide into the older's mouth, moving it against the older's with gentle but fluid movements for just a little while before he decided he didn't like the feeling very much and went back to kissing Daehyun the way he had been beforehand.

The older student didn't allow it for long before he was drawing Youngjae's lower lip into his mouth, sucking and nibbling on it with much more gentleness than he had had in any kiss in the past. Some part of Daehyun realized that was what the younger responded best to, after all.  Youngjae let out a soft gasp, but didn't used his strategically placed hands, on Daehyun's cheeks, to push him away.

Upon meeting no resistance to his gentle actions, unlike normal when he could tell Youngjae was at least in part trying to get away from him, Daehyun decided to see how far he could push the issue. It had upset him earlier that Youngjae seemed a little resistant, as it made it harder to delude himself into thinking Min's lie was the truth, but now that Youngjae had lost that resistance he could assume it was entirely due to him being too rough and delude himself once more. His Youngjae loved him very much, but he was delicate like a porcelain doll, so Daehyun need to treat him with a gentle care. That had to be the only reason Youngjae seemed to flounder in their kisses before, because Daehyun had been rough with him and his precious Youngjae didn't like that. He must have equated it with being in trouble, Daehyun convinced himself, which is why the younger didn't resist at all when Daehyun kissed him roughly after their fight in the hallway. It was because then he was being punished fairly for doing something against Daehyun, while all other times he was just trying to figure out what he had done wrong!

Needless to say, Daehyun was deluding himself quickly and effectively as he always did. Some people just like to live in their own world, however far from reality that world was.

Regardless, Daehyun realized the need to test his new, deluded hypothesis as to why Youngjae had resisted him earlier, by testing how much the younger would let him get away with before he'd start being resistant and trying to get out of the kiss again. So after about a minute of sucking and nibbling on Youngjae's lower lip, he kissed the skin there gently and reconnected their lips fully, pleased when Youngjae was quick to kiss him back with gentle movements, his hands slowly sliding from Daehyun's cheeks to play with his hair. It was gentle, just like the rest of the kiss, making Daehyun smile just a little.

With a little hesitance that he would ruin Youngjae kissing him, he slid his tongue forward into he younger's mouth. He made sure not to move too roughly or stick more than just the tip forward. For once, Youngjae didn't seem to object to having Daehyun's tongue in his mouth, because the younger found the feeling was relatively pleasant when Daehyun was being gentle. Now to say kissing him was pleasant didn't mute Youngjae's fear or dislike for Daehyun, but rather lowered his disdain and discomfort for his situation and what he'd need to do in the future to keep his new safety net over him. It would be tolerable if it was like this, Youngjae thought to himself, and that was all he could hope for. He played around with the tip of Daehyun's tongue for a little while, again seeing what felt good and what didn't. Once content, he moved his head a little closer to Daehyun's their noses bumping side by side as Daehyun took the message to slide his tongue in a little farther. He copied the motions Youngjae had been doing before, sticking mostly to the ones the younger repeated, as he continued their gentle kiss.

The little hesitance built up in Daehyun again before he tried something else. He was sure to be careful as he rolled the two of them so they were no longer on their sides, but instead Youngjae was lying beneath him. The older student was careful to keep their bodies from touching, and as Daehyun didn't doing anything rough, Youngjae did not resist any.

The younger was reaching the tail end of his  _scientific curiosity_ , or that's what he justified it as in his mind rather than admitting he was letting the gentle heat coursing through his body guide him, so after a minute or two of kissing with Daehyun hovering above him, he pulled away.

Daehyun had to take a second to take it in: Youngjae below him with slightly glazed over eyes and puffy lips, a small pink blush on his cheeks over the position they were in and what little they had done. If Youngjae looked this cute and delectable just from kissing, Daehyun couldn't imagine how he'd manage when he actually started touching the younger and bringing him pleasure. He was already applauding his self-control for not pinning down Youngjae then and there and playing with him until he got to see just how cute Youngjae looked when he came.

Again, possessiveness boiled up inside him. He would be the only one to see Youngjae looking this cute! Daehyun couldn't stand the thought that Youngjae may have kissed someone else in the past even. He didn't realize he was just hovering there, staring at the blushing younger.

"S-Sorry, I-I -" Youngjae wanted to apologize for getting so into the kiss, but Daehyun cut him off.

"Have you ever kissed anyone before?" The older student asked, his voice coming out soft although Youngjae could hear the harsh edge to it, could see the little flames of jealousy in Daehyun's eyes.

"No." Youngjae answered, telling the truth. "You were my first kiss."

That seemed to please Daehyun a lot, and he rolled to the side so he could pull Youngjae to his chest again. He was humming that soft tune again, running his fingers up and down Youngjae's back in a way that made any nervousness from Daehyun staring at him dissipate. "My precious Youngjae." Daehyun cooed happily, "Of course, you never kissed anyone before me. You're so innocent." He pecked the top of Youngjae's head, pleased at how the younger was holding him tight around his middle. "How about we watch a movie, and then you can head off to bed?"

 

Youngjae woke up the next morning in a pleasant haze after the best night of sleep he had gotten in a long time, alone in his room without fear of someone else coming in and doing something awful to him in his sleep. Some staff member had already left another set of Daehyun's clothes for the younger boy to wear, and he was a bit thankful he'd be getting his own clothes soon since he wasn't a fan of having them picked out for him. This time, though, it was just a simple pair of black jeans and a grey tee, but he knew they were both ridiculously expensive despite their simplicity.

He showered without any of the sick thoughts he had yesterday of what Daehyun might do to him, got changed, and combed out his hair tiredly. A knock sounded at the door and he called out a sleepy 'come in', with no clue who it could be or what they could want. It was one of the maids holding a small case in her hands, which she put on top of the desk before leaving quickly. Youngjae quickly figured out she must have heard Daehyun's hissy fit yesterday regarding Youngjae interacting with other people and was thankful she hadn't tried to interact with him as he approached the case. Remembering he needed his glasses to actually see things, he back tracked to put them on before returning to see what he was brought.

Contacts. He had never tried buying them before because they were more expensive then glasses and he didn't have money to afford that. Hesitantly, he went into his bathroom again and put them on, entirely unsurprised when his eyes turned red and started watering at the odd feeling of something on them.

Knowing it would stop in a minute or two, he just grabbed his phone from the table and headed downstairs for breakfast. He still had a good amount of time before his first class started since he had woken up early, but he figured he might as well eat now and get out early, maybe even before Daehyun woke up. Avoiding the older would be nice given how dark the bruise on his cheek had turned over night. It was even darker than the hickeys Daehyun had left on Youngjae's neck, and he didn't want to know how the older would react to it.

Daehyun was already in the kitchen when he got there, furrowing his eyebrows when he saw poor Youngjae with red, teary eyes and a dark bruise on his cheek. "Youngjae, what's wrong?" He asked gently, pulling the younger into his lap to cradle him.

"Nothing, it's just the contacts." Youngjae answered, offering a cute smile and pecking Daehyun's cheek. "It'll go away in a couple minutes."

"Do they hurt?" Daehyun asked, stroking up Youngjae's sides gently. He had learned his lesson well last night, if he was gentle Youngjae was entirely willing to let Daehyun have his way, within reason. Their relationship would still progress slowly, but Daehyun now knew how to keep Youngjae from resisting him in general.

Youngjae scrunched his eyes for a second, reaching up a hand to wipe a tear away. His voice didn't carry the sadness of someone crying, which spoke to his point that the contacts were just irritating his eyes. "They hurt more when I first put them in. It's not that bad anymore." He said. Daehyun nodded, pulling Youngjae tighter into his arms, the younger relaxing against him as Daehyun kept up rubbing his sides with soft fingers. "How are you?" Youngjae asked sweetly, like his mom would when he got up in the morning. "Did you sleep well?"

Daehyun pecked his forehead in response, murmuring in Youngjae's ear, "I would have slept better with you by my side." The way Youngjae blushed made his heart pound and if he could have, he would have sent the staff out of the room and fucked the cute boy over the kitchen table. Before his imagination could get carried away with that, he distracted himself with more conversation. "I hope you slept well." He said softly, and Youngjae confirmed that he had.

From there, it was silent as the cook brought out breakfast for them and they ate while Daehyun rubbed Youngjae's back, having some constant need to be touching the younger student.

After they finished breakfast, Daehyun dragged Youngjae by the hand to his room, saying, "You have a bit of time still before your first class, let's try to cover up that bruise a bit." Youngjae followed after him, sitting on Daehyun's bed while the elder fished out some BB cream to cover Youngjae's face with. It was the closest to acknowledging that he had hit Youngjae that Daehyun had gotten so far, but Youngjae didn't expect an apology at this point, as Daehyun clearly didn't think he had done anything wrong.

The older sat beside him, pulling Youngjae to sit cross-legged on the bed so they could be facing each other. He closed his eyes so none of the makeup would get into them, but as usual planned on just letting Daehyun do whatever he wanted - within reason.

A soft hand brushed against where the bruise was on his cheek, not rubbing any makeup over it yet. Youngjae opened his eyes a little to look at Daehyun, who looked a little sad and regretful. "Are you mad at me?" He asked quietly, running his fingers over the bruise again and again, so that it felt a little sore even with the minimal pressure the fingers were exerting.

Youngjae was a bit scared, yes, but he hadn't thought to be angry about it. "No." He answered truthfully. He kept up his acting performance by adding a sweet, "I could never be mad at you."

Daehyun, as always, seemed to buy it, and leaned forward to kiss over the bruise, applying just enough pressure that it stung. Youngjae convinced himself it wasn't on purpose. "I'm sorry." Daehyun said, pushing out his bottom lip. His eyes betrayed that he didn't mean it, that it was a hollow apology only there to keep Youngjae in line. "I just got so jealous. I don't want to share you with anyone, Youngjae."

Youngjae pecked Daehyun's lips in hopes that it would keep this sweet Daehyun around rather than letting the sour feelings bring back anger. "It's okay." He assured, even though it wasn't. "I'm only yours." He promised, even though he'd rather that wasn't true. "I love you." He added, even though it was a blatant lie.

Daehyun smiled, those simple words being all he needed to decide his empty apology was accepted. It was clear Daehyun thought he was in the right for hitting Youngjae and yelling at him, but Youngjae wasn't about to bring it up because underneath all the pleasantry and the lies, he was still terrified of Daehyun, and terrified of what Daehyun would do to him once they stopped pretending. Daehyun pecked his cheek over the bruise again, harder this time so that it really hurt, but Youngjae didn't flinch away. He just sat still and closed his eyes once Daehyun started rubbing the BB cream over his face, trying not to notice that the older's finger were gentle unless running against the bruise, where they would push into the hurt flesh until it stung.

When he was done, the bruise was completely invisible, although it hurt a lot more than it had that morning when Youngjae woke up. It was pulsating a little, drawing Youngjae's attention to it whenever he wasn't focused on something else. With another twenty minutes before Youngjae could justify leaving for class, Daehyun pulled him into his arms and then laid them down onto the bed. He occupied those twenty minutes sucking hickeys into the younger's neck and darkening the ones there, so that his possession of the younger would be obviously his to anyone that saw him. But the real possessive mark, the bruise on Youngjae's cheek, that would remain hidden from everyone.

Before he let the younger leave, Daehyun pressed another harsh kiss into where the bruise was, rubbing his thumb over it to cement the sting on Youngjae's face. The younger still had himself convinced it was accidental, and that Daehyun only kept touching where the bruise was because he felt bad for leaving it there in the first place.


	6. Chapter 6

Youngjae's face stung as he sat in his first class of the day. Maybe that sting cemented into his skin did not matter though, maybe it was worth on bruise to live in this world. Already there was a stark difference between today, where he belonged to Jung Daehyun, and yesterday when he was free. The room was swirling around him, full of conversations that faded to white noise. All except for the couple hushed conversations about him.

"Oh my god." A girl whispered to her friend as they walk in to the classroom, eyes on Youngjae. "He looks like a dalmatian."

"Sh," Her friend shushed he quickly, looking over at Youngjae in fear while he pretended not to be listening. "Daehyun had us get our parents to remove all of our stock in Seunghyun's company for hurting him, and then last night I heard he did things to fuck with the companies of anyone that was in the cafeteria when he was pushed down again."

"So?" The first girl asked, side-eyeing Youngjae just a bit while he stared down his notes like he was reading them.

"So, what if he hears we said something bad about his pet? What if the whore tells him we were talking trash? He's clearly fucking Daehyun into getting rid of the people that bother him, we don't want to be put on that list." The second said in a very harsh whisper, so quiet that Youngjae barely heard her. "Daehyun must really like him to be fucking over so many people over him."

"Daehyun doesn't like anyone." The other girl scoffed. "I don't think he even has real emotions. His pet must just have a very talented mouth if you catch my drift."

The second shrugged, accepting it. "I mean, Daehyun has always loved blow jobs. If the whore give really good ones, then Daehyun would probably give him what he wants for the sake of having someone readily available to suck him off. I wonder if he's a good fuck then..."

"He has to be." The first insisted. "Or Daehyun wouldn't bother with him. It's not like he's rich, or from a good family. Think about how amazing of a fuck he must be to make Daehyun agree to claim him over someone of worth." They both stopped whispering for a second or two, and Youngjae wasn't sure if he should be horrified or amazed at what they thought of him. "I wonder if I can get him to fuck me. Like, maybe if he's a really good bottom, he'd be a really good top too? And like, definitely if his blow jobs are good then he'll give good head."

"Are you saying you'd actually let the whore eat you out?" The second giggled.

"Call it charity." The first said. "If he didn't have Daehyun it might be the only thing he eats all week. Given how he was dressed until Daehyun gave him decent clothing, I doubt he could afford food."

Youngjae was starting to get offended, and entertained the possibility of texting their picture to Daehyun and telling him they were teasing him just to see what the older would do, but he didn't. Instead, he had an idea, pulling out his phone and pretending to snap a picture of them, then pretending to go typing away on his phone. He wanted to know howthey'd react to the possibility of Daehyun being mad at them before he'd actually tell the older, just because apparently the older was doing more than Youngjae thought he was.

"Shit." The first girl said.

"What?" The second asked

"I think he took a picture of us, what if he heard us? What if he's texting Daehyun?" The first said.

"Fuck." The second whispered. "He'd fuck over the both of us in an instant, we aren't valuable to him." They paused for a moment to watch Youngjae, clearly concerned about what he's doing. "He's opening his texts, fuck. A quickie in the stairwell and suddenly we're in a different tax bracket."

"What do we do?" The first asked.

"Youngjae." The second called, loud enough for the younger to hear. "You look really well today! We're glad things are going better."

Youngjae didn't respond because his face stung a bit and he was overcome with the shock of it, lightly touching over where the bruise was as he winced. He wasn't allowed to talk to them, or look at them. He knew he wasn't allowed. But he needed to do something, he felt bad for scaring the shit out of these girls when they were only believing what Daehyun was trying to convince everyone of. He still had his conversation with Daehyun open, and he knew if he just closed it they'd think he texted Daehyun something when they weren't paying close enough attention.

With a sigh, he typed a heart into the text box, deciding that this was the only course of action beneficial to him, and sent it to Daehyun. He could hear the person behind him lean over to whisper to the girls what he had sent, both of whom sighed in relief and then went on to talk about the course they were in instead.

It was clear from the way the teacher looked at Youngjae when he walked in that news of what had happened the day before had spread it's way through the faculty.  He seemed to be looking for any indication that Youngjae was hurt or unhappy, but the younger just put on a small smile after pretending to look at his phone. It was all an act after all, and Youngjae would never be able to stop acting.

Class passed with Youngjae fixated on working hard to make up for all of the time he spent fearing for himself instead of paying attention. This happened to be a biochemistry course, which Youngjae considered rather easy and so catching up wasn't much of a struggle. The perks of being a genius, he guessed.

As he was gathering his things so he could leave for his next class, he felt someone waiting by the side of his desk. He didn't acknowledge them, just hoping whoever it was was intelligent enough to know that Daehyun would end them if they tried to hurt him. "Hey, Youngjae." A voice called a second or two later, pleasant and female, but clearly not one of the two girls from earlier. The younger knew better that to respond, standing and pushing his chair in before turning to walk away. Heels clacking against the floor signaled that whoever it was decided to follow him.

"You look so good today." The other student complimented, but Youngjae still wouldn't acknowledge her. "I'm sorry if I'm bothering you, really, I just have a favor to ask. I promise I'll make it worth your while if you get your Daehyunnie to do something for me."

It was silent for a couple seconds before she tried again. "I'd ask him myself but he's been so busy lately, don't you think? And I mean, now he has you so he wouldn't let me pay him for favors the way I used to..." There was no response and Youngjae could hear the frustration mounting in her voice. "It's not even that big of a favor for him, and it'll mean a lot to me. Really, I'll pay you however you want! I'll buy you something you want."

Silence. Youngjae didn't even know what this girl looked liked. That sting on his cheek told him not to look at her or reply. "I guess you have Daehyun to buy you nice things now... I'll pay you with something better, I promise."

He was about a fifty feet from his classroom when all of her proposals seemed to bend in haste to her annoyance. She pushed Youngjae against the wall, and he let her purely because over the past month he had learned it was better to not fight back. "Listen." She was rather pretty, in the brief look he got at her before he turned his eyes away, looking annoyed to hide the fear that Daehyun would be upset with him for this. "I just need you to convince Daehyun to do something for me. I'll suck you off if you do, okay? Hell, I'll let you fuck me. I really don't care so long as you fuck Daehyun into giving me what I want. That should be a fair trade for a whore like you, getting twice the amount of fucking as you normally would."

She gasped a bit in realizing what she said, flipping her hair as she tried to collect herself. "I mean, um, sorry. But, don't you want my pretty lips around your dick, Youngjae? Look at them and tell me no." She said. A hand reached up to his chin, trying to tug his face into looking at her.  _Don't let them touch you._ He felt that sting heavy on his face again and fear mounting inside him, quick to smack her hand away.

The student gasped that he would dare hit her, but by the time she recovered from the shock of the tap on the wrist she had just gotten, Youngjae had left for his classroom.

Inside he could still feel the sting on his cheek and the fear. He wondered if he should text Daehyun about what had just happened, but decided against because he had done nothing wrong. Instead he just fiddled with the clothes he was wearing, which smelled heavily of Daehyun's cologne, and it was starting to make him feel a bit sick. Being constantly so wrapped up in the older, it disgusted him.

He noticed everyone in this classroom was pointedly ignoring him, not even looking in his general direction. It didn't feel like he was being snubbed, it felt like they were terrified of him.

He checked his messages, seeing that Daehyun had seen the heart Youngjae had texted him earlier. There was no reply though just a note under his message saying it had been read and he wondered what that meant. Daehyun didn't had said he didn't have class until afternoon so there wasn't a good reason for him to not respond. It worried Youngjae just a bit since he had sent it two hours ago, before his first class.

His second class went by with him entirely focused on the subject, computer science. It wasn't particularly hard but he liked the subject so he wanted to pay attention.

The teacher in this class asked a lot of questions, and most of the time Youngjae would answer them, but today he did not. Some part of him told him it was because Daehyun hadn't said there was an exception for talking to teachers, but most of them thought that was ridiculous and that he was just too tired and focused on catching up before midterms started.

After class he noticed a new text message from Daehyun, one that just read that he should go meet the older student on a relatively deserted location on campus and they would head to lunch together.

He packed up quickly, not giving anyone the chance to talk to him as he ran out of the room, missing the couple people that trailed after him to see what he was going to do. Having the richest student in the class claim the poorest was not ideal for them, and so they were all hoping to catch Youngjae doing something awful so they could convince Daehyun to get rid of him.

They were meeting at a rather abandoned corner of the quad, behind a building where no one would be when it was lunch hour. Youngjae waited a good ten minutes too, before Daehyun was showing up with his apathetic eyes and cold smirk that seemed to be reserved for school.

Youngjae didn't even get the chance to say hello before Daehyun's lips were on his, pressing him into a pseudo-rough kiss with Youngjae pressed between his body and the wall. Confusion was taking over the younger as, even with their lips pushed up together so harshly, the older wasn't really doing much. Daehyun's hands were on his waist, just resting there with nothing particularly sinister about them. "Hey, baby." Daehyun said when he pulled away, loud as if he was talking to someone who wasn't Youngjae. "You been limping much? I know after last night... I guess was a bit rough..."

 _It was an act_. It didn't take long for Youngjae to figure that out, although he had no clue who'd be watching them in such a deserted location. "I'll be okay." Youngjae answered softly, shyly.

Daehyun smirked just a bit, and Youngjae wondered if it was part of the act or if he was glad Youngjae had caught on that it was an act. "Why are you lying?"

Youngjae pretended to stammer a couple times that he wasn't, before acknowledging that actor Daehyun didn't believe him. "It really hurts." He pretended to admit. "B-But that doesn't mean we can't-- I'd still be... I'd still be okay for more tonight. Please? I-I don't want to--" He saw a glint behind Daehyun's eyes, telling him he had gotten it right.

"You really love my dick that much then, slut?" Daehyun asked, and now Youngjae knew it had to be an act. He blushed a bit, nodding his head just a little. "Out loud, baby." Daehyun instructed, shifting his gaze to the corner of the building for just a second so that Youngjae wondered if there was actually someone there.

"Yes, Sir." Youngjae said obediently, wondering what exactly was going on.

Daehyun kissed him again, for a long time. He wasn't being rough, though, so it felt good, even if Youngjae was confused and a little concerned about what was going on. Eventually he heard the faint sound of footsteps leaving, and Daehyun pulled away to make sure those classmates that had followed Youngjae really had left. "They were watching us." Daehyun mumbled apologetically.

"I figured that much out." Youngjae whispered back. "Hi."

A large smile broke on Daehyun's face and he pulled the younger into a tight hug. "Hey. How's your day been so far?"

"Well, it got a lot better now that you're here." Youngjae said, internally cringing at his own cheesiness but what did it matter. He was acting, just like he would be for the rest of his life. "Mostly okay. I got to class and missed you, and then after some girl tried to talk to me."

Daehyun's arms got painfully tight, squeezing the air out of Youngjae. "What did you do?" The older growled out.

"I ignored her." Youngjae assured, glad when his answer made Daehyun's arms loosen. "And when she tried to touch me I hit her hand away." Daehyun's grip loosened a bit more, until it was nearly comfortable again.

"Was she pretty?" Daehyun asked.

"I didn't look." Youngjae replied, and suddenly the hug turned gentle and he could breath again. "But I'm sure she was ugly. No one can be considered pretty in comparison to you." He was saying it, again, for the sake of pleasing Daehyun, who chuckled.

He pulled away from the hug to give Youngjae a gentle kiss, much like the kissing from the night before. "You sent me a heart." Daehyun said when he pulled away from the kiss, seeming to be questioning it.

"Yeah." Youngjae answered, quickly deciding on a lie to tell. "I was thinking about you and I... I don't know. I thought it would be cute. You're supposed to do stuff like that when you really like someone, right? I don't know, I'm not good at these things, but I really like you. I hope it was okay." He blabbered on for a bit, playing into the innocent boy in love story Min had told earlier.

Daehyun laughed a little and kissed his forehead. "I was more than okay, I was really happy when I saw it." What he wasn't telling Youngjae was that he had rolled around on his bed in a giggly fit of happiness for several minutes when he saw it. "And I thought you loved me? Now it's only really like?" He teased.

"I didn't-- Um, I just.. I do love you!" Youngjae stammered out, finding that his fake stammer was getting more convincing by the minute.

Daehyun was smiling and kissing him and Youngjae was letting him because that was what he was supposed to do. He wondered how long this could possibly be dragged on for, how long until he would break and scream and fight Daehyun. Kissing may have turned into a rather pleasant occurrence, but he wasn't sure he'd be okay with this forever.

The rest of the day was simple. Youngjae ignored everyone, and they all ignored him. Daehyun had pushed him up against a wall during lunch and made out with him, violently and as if he really didn't care about what Youngjae wanted at all. The younger student knew that was the point, so he just pretended to be receptive to it until Daehyun stopped. Again, he just left Youngjae at the wall and went to go chat with Himchan and Suzy. Youngjae had just pouted, visibly, as if he was so upset that Daehyun had stopped when really he was glad because it was awful. Pretending was so difficult sometimes, but Youngjae had to keep up the act so he slid into the chair next to Daehyun and hung on him for the rest of lunch.

His other two classes passed by uneventfully. And Daehyun was gone for a long time when Youngjae got back to their dorm. He went up to his room with the intention to study, but finding it impossible he went downstairs to search for a snack.

"I'll make you something." The cook said when she found Youngjae going through the fridge. "Don't worry, Daehyun usually goes to town for a couple hours on Fridays and there aren't cameras in the dorms. You can talk to me while he's not here." She seemed largely concerned for him, probably recognizing the bad spot Youngjae had gotten into when he made the decision to go to this school.

Daehyun wouldn't hit him for asking for a snack, right? Of course not. "Just something sweet would be good. You don't need to make anything."

"There are some cookies leftover." She answered. "How about that and some hot chocolate?"

Youngjae nodded and sat at the table as she milled about, idly getting that done since it wasn't like there was anything to rush for. The whole staff seemed much more relaxed with Daehyun gone. Some of the maids even came to sit at the kitchen table and snack with him. It was quiet and comfortable and Youngjae felt relaxed. Hearing people whisper about Daehyun and the things the older had done was starting to make Youngjae worried. The girl who had tried to talk to him had been crying during the last block of classes, apparently. Although nothing had happened to her parents' company, Daehyun had done something horrible enough to her to make her cry.

The older got back around dinner, ordering the cook to make something before settling next to Youngjae at the table. "Where were you?" Youngjae asked.

"I went out with Himchan to make sure I liked the clothes the stylist got you." Daehyun answered. "The staff is bringing them up to your room right now."

Youngjae smiled, pecking Daehyun's cheek. "Daehyunnie's so nice to me." He said cutely, imitating his brother's girlfriend again because she was good at getting what she wanted without problem. "Thank you so much."

The older student was absolutely beaming, his arm around Youngjae's shoulder to forcibly keep him close. "Anything you want, babe. Drop the name and it's yours."

"What if I want a kiss? Can you get me that?" Youngjae said sweetly, applauding his own acting abilities because they at least looked the way happy couples were supposed to look. He sounded like someone who hadn't been forced into a relationship by some moody, spoiled rich boy whom he did not like in the slightest, but rather detested.

"Depends on who the kiss is from?" Daehyun teased.

"You." Youngjae answered, receiving a simple and sweet kiss in response that he let continue for as long as he could. This was his job, wasn't it? Wasn't it his job to be Daehyun's whore? To kiss him and then more?

Most of the evening was spent doing things other than that after they had eaten. It was a Friday so Daehyun insisted Youngjae couldn't abandon him to go do homework, but the two didn't know each other well at all so they couldn't think of what to do. They were hanging around in one of the pseudo-living rooms of Daehyun's dorm, sitting on the couch together and talking because they had never held a particularly real, non-forced conversation before. Everything was acting, maybe they wanted a little taste of real. "But the transition from Arabic to Hebrew is easier." Daehyun was insisting. "Even _if_ Cantonese and Mandarin operate on the same writing system, they sound very different and have very little crossover." How they had ended up debating language was entirely unknown to them, but somehow it came up that they both spoke about ten languages and were in the process of learning more.

Youngjae was quickly realizing Daehyun was as much of a genius as he was, and that with real conversation like this he found the other's presence tolerable. "I'm not saying the transition is easier." Youngjae replied. "I'm just saying that at least you're able to  _read_  for the most part. As far as transitions go, probably Swedish to Norwegian is probably the easiest."

Daehyun shrugged, accepting it. "Mutual intelligibility is a wonderful thing. We should drink something." He said suddenly, looking to the bottle of vodka on the table he had told one of the maids to fetch.

"I don't really like alcohol." Youngjae answered.

"Oh, come on." Daehyun whined. "It's college, we're supposed to get drunk, not spend three hours debating mathematics most physics professors can't even full understand." Youngjae would have argued it had only been an hour and a half, and in that hour and a half he realized Daehyun had not gotten into this school purely because he was rich.

"Get drunk and do what?" Youngjae asked. "By that argument we should be at parties on Friday nights, but we're not."

"Do you want to go to parties?" Daehyun asked.

Youngjae scoffed at that, the long conversation loosening his tongue a bit. "Yes, I definitely want to go hang out with the peers that have been making my life a living hell for the past month, great idea."

"You're sassier than I thought." Daehyun retorted. "I like it." He was remembering then why he had liked Youngjae so much as to go through all of this. Youngjae had been doing everything he could lately to please Daehyun, but he thought he liked this better. In controlled doses, Youngjae being defiant was a good thing. But not too defiant, Daehyun still needed all of the control. "Let's see if you get sassier when you're drunk."

Six shots and some pretty intense conversations later they were making out. Daehyun seemed to want to lay them down on the couch but Youngjae wouldn't let him. With alcohol burning through his veins he was suddenly caught up in disgust with going any further, and annoyance at how poorly he had been treated over the past month. He tried to convince himself that he shouldn't say anything, that at least Daehyun was proving to be mildly less unpleasant by the minute even if he was still crazy possessive. "I'm so glad your mine, all mine." Daehyun was mumbling into the kiss. "All mine, my Youngjae. I won't share you with anyone." It was only getting worse the more they drank. "I'll ruin anyone that tries to get close to you or hurt you. Even if they look at you, I can't allow it. You're mine, only mine, aren't you? And you don't need anyone else but me. You don't to look at them or talk to them and you aren't, are you? Because you're mine. Mine, mine, mine."

"Your what?" Youngjae asked as best as he could with Daehyun continuously kissing him. The older pulled away abruptly to stare at him with shock. Youngjae couldn't hold back his words, like vomit coming out of him. He couldn't keep up pretending, because becoming aware of it made it a hassle, just like breathing or blinking. "Two girls behind me were whispering about me today." He said, looking into Daehyun's eyes with some sort of fire. "They called me a whore; they called me your pet. The girl you made cry today called me a whore. Yesterday, that guy, Seunghyun was what they called him, he called me a whore too. And just a while ago, you called me a slut. Last night, I was your toy." His face was hard.

"You have to understand, I only do that because--" Daehyun started but Youngjae cut him off.

"Because if for some reason they think you like me in the slightest, they'll do something to me? The two girls behind me were terrified when they thought I heard them talking. They thought I was going to convince you to get rid of them." Youngjae said.

"And if you want me too, I will." Daehyun replied. "I can end their family's companies within a couple hours."

"So that they'll get angry at me, yell at me, push me to the ground and violate me just like everyone else in this school? So you can get mad at me for something I didn't do and hit me again?" Youngjae replied, unable to stop the word vomit. Maybe it was the alcohol.

"So that I can protect you from them." Daehyun growled out. "I'm just trying to make you happy."

"Are you sure that's what you're trying to do?" Youngjae retorted.

Daehyun's nostrils flared a bit and some sensible part of Youngjae told him not to pick a fight. He ignored that part. "Yes, I'm sure. Haven't I been nice to you so far? Why are you so suddenly so unhappy with me?"

"Because I don't want to be someone's whore, or slut, or, pet, or toy, or whatever." Youngjae answered. "The whole school thinks I'm sleeping with you for free stuff and you're convincing them that you're just using me as a convenient fuck! So then, what am I? Really?"

"Mine." Daehyun answered, his eyes dark and his face showing his upset.

"Your what?" Youngjae replied, repeating his question from earlier.

"Mine." Daehyun repeated, this time forcing Youngjae to lie down with Daehyun hovering on top of him as he spoke. "My whatever-the-fuck-I-want-you-to-be. It doesn't matter what they say or I say or what anyone thinks, Youngjae. The only thing you are is mine. You don't need to care passed that because that's it. You are  _mine_. You always were, whether you wanted to be or not."

"And what would happen if I didn't want to be?" Youngjae challenged.

"I think you know." Daehyun replied, narrowing his eyes. "And I think you know better than to say things like that, someone might miss that it's hypothetical, might mistake that as you saying you don't like me. Then that person would wonder really what you're after with this relationship, and try to take it away from you." His anger was thinly-veiled and the warning lay heavy in his voice.  _Whatever you do, don't break the act. If you do Daehyun will destroy you._  "All you need to know is that you are mine."

"But I want to know what I am to you." Youngjae demanded. "Am I your whore? Your boyfriend? Your  _possession_ _?_  When I tell my parents about you, what do I say? 'Yeah, he's my...' what? Sugar daddy?" He said it more as a joke than anything else.

"Well considering how close-minded adults can be, you'll tell them I'm your boyfriend, even if that's not quite right." Daehyun answered.

"And why isn't it?" Youngjae questioned.

Daehyun shrugged. "There are better words, and I have better control over you than a boyfriend would. One might even go as far as to say I have entire control over you, so long as they weren't watching this display of negative affect."

"Then what am I?" Youngjae didn't realize how loud he was until he heard the silence of the room after, Daehyun glaring down at him.

"For a genius, you have a hard time learning." Daehyun answered, tangling a hand into Youngjae's hair and pulling harshly. "Don't raise your voice at me ever again, and I've already answered your question so drop it. You're mine, plain and simple. You aren't my anything, you're just mine."

"So you're the owner and I'm the possession?" Youngjae replied, eyes narrowing.

Suddenly there was sting across his unbruised cheek and Youngjae was wincing in pain. Daehyun had hit him harder this time. "If you want to think about it that way, I don't care. But don't pester me like this, Youngjae. If you misbehave, I'll punish you."

"I don't think I like you when you're drunk" Youngjae mumbled softly, before he could stop the words from coming out.

When he looked up at Daehyun, he knew he was in trouble.


	7. Chapter 7

"You don't like me when I'm drunk?" Daehyun asked, articulating each syllable with care as anger practically dripped from his voice. "Are you sure that's what you meant to say, Youngjae? Or did I hear you wrong?"

"Am I supposed to lie and say I didn't say it, or tell the truth?" Youngjae answered indignantly. "Which will keep you from hitting me again?"

Daehyun let out a growl of frustration, yanking on Youngjae's hair harshly. "Watch yourself, Youngjae. You're walking a really thin line right now." He looked threatening, terrifying. His second night there, Youngjae was realizing this was going to be a regular thing - Daehyun was going to keep getting mad at him, keep hitting him, and keep threatening him.

"What? What could I possibly do worse? You've already hit me once tonight! After you said you liked my sass, suddenly my talking back is bothering you?" Youngjae ranted out. He didn't want to pretend, it was exhausting.

Daehyun pushed him off the couch roughly, not showing any pity when Youngjae hit his head on the ground. "Oops." He said with little remorse. "Maybe killed a couple brain cells there, but the way you're acting I wouldn't think you had many to begin with. Tell me, did you actually whore your way into this school? Because I'm realizing increasingly that you aren't smart enough to be here."

Youngjae stood, dusting himself off and glaring at the older. "You all really seem to like to call me that: 'whore'. It's like you can't accept that you don't need money to have a fully functioning brain."

"Maybe we keep calling you that because it's what you are." Daehyun answered as he got off the couch, yanking Youngjae by the arm until they were near the wall and then pushing Youngjae up into it. "Look at what you're doing and tell me you aren't a whore." Daehyun ordered as he did so.

"I'm not sleeping with anyone, am I?" Youngjae asked. "Compared to someone who used to let people suck him off for special favors, I'm a fucking saint." He tried to ignore the slight jealousy on the undertone of his voice.

Daehyun rolled his eyes, pulling and pushing Youngjae, yanking him by the arms, until they were couple feet over and Youngjae was pressed with his stomach against the wall and Daehyun pressing up behind him. "Oh, but look at the big picture, babe." Daehyun pretended to coo before his voice grew harsh again. "You're acting like a lovesick boyfriend for clothes and a new phone. Won't you be sucking me off soon enough too?"

"You're the one who manipulated our entire school into fucking torturing me until I agreed to being yours, jackass." He replied, some sane part of him screaming to shut his fucking mouth while the majority was too drunk to give a fuck.

"You're not denying it then, huh?" Daehyun sounded hurt, almost. Underneath it all, all the anger and wrath, it sounded like there was an ounce of hurt.

Youngjae rested his forehead against the wall, realizing Daehyun wouldn't let him up. "You're words, not mine." He mumbled lowly. Daehyun was silent for a couple seconds and Youngjae couldn't see him so he didn't know why.

"So we're back to this then, aren't we?" Daehyun didn't sound angry, just defeated. "You're mine, but you aren't? Even when I'm right here, with all the rights in the fucking world. I could fuck you against this wall, tie you up on a bed and fuck you for hours, no prep, raw, anything I want. And just like last time, you're here fighting me?" It was silent for a tense second. "Are you an idiot?"

"If anyone is the idiot between us, it's you." Youngjae replied coldly. "What the fuck were you expecting?"

Daehyun pulled him by the arm again, kicking out his feet from under him to make him fall on the floor. Youngjae tried to scramble up and away but it was too late, the older sat straddling his back, using his weight to pin the younger down and his hands to keep Youngjae's still. "I was expecting you to use your fucking brain!" He was shouting. "If this didn't turn out well for you last time, why do you think it'll go well now? Are you that slow of a learner, do we need to go through this whole process again? Do I need to tie you up or fuck you into the floor? Maybe I fucking should just to get my point across!"

"Daehyun." Youngjae wasn't sure what he wanted to say, but he was scared and it carried in his voice.

"What?" Daehyun shouted at him. "Now that shit got real suddenly you don't want to fucking play anymore? It's your own fucking fault! If I do something, it's your fault, you drove me to it." When he spoke again he wasn't yelling anymore, his voice was low, practically growling. "You are a stupid, worthless fucking slut: stupid because you don't fucking learn that you shouldn't start shit with me; a slut because you're playing this game for the free shit, playing with me for free shit; and worthless because you're not even doing that right. You have three fucking options, Youngjae. Maybe pain helps you learn, it's what's worked so far."

"Daehyun, please, I--" Youngjae was going to beg Daehyun to stop, legitimately worried about what was about to happen. Tears had started gathering in his eyes out of fear.

Daehyun's weight was removed with the harsh order not to move, and Youngjae was fearful enough to comply. He could hear the clinking of Daehyun's belt and those tears started spilling, because  _oh god_  he wasn't ready yet and he never should of opened his stupid fucking mouth. Daehyun forced him to kneel on his hands and knees, a position Youngjae had been pushed down to more than once. He was really sobbing now, yelping in pain and surprise when Daehyun's belt made harsh contact with his ass like a whip. "Option one, least painful, you can just accept it and be mine. You were doing so fucking well too; I almost believed you." Daehyun told him. Two harsh whips came next and Youngjae whimpered loudly with each of them. "Two, if you can't fucking manage that you can just be what you already are in the first place: a worthless whore. I'll fuck you whenever I want and if you want something you can blow me for it. Maybe I'll lend you out to friends when they've done something I like." Three more came then, each harder than the last. "Fucking three, I can throw you back out there and watch how long you'll last when the entire school is pissed at you and they have me leading them. The longest anyone's made it with me trying to get rid of them is a week, Youngjae, and I was being nice that time."

"I'm sorry!" Youngjae cried out, worried about getting whipped again when his ass was already burning.

"Which option do you pick?" His voice came out cold, unaffected, apathetic. He couldn't help but feel like he meant nothing to him, to anyone here. Youngjae had made up his mind: he didn't care anymore; he just wanted the sweet Daehyun back.

"One." Youngjae told him. "Please Daehyun, I'm just drunk. I didn't mean it."

"Tell me you love me." Daehyun ordered.

"I love you." Youngjae said without hesitation.

"Tell me you don't need anyone but me." Daehyun told him next, pressing against him from behind as if to remind him of the position he was in and how low on the food chain he was.

"I don't need anyone but you." Youngjae replied. "I don't need to talk to them or look at them and so I won't. I won't even think about them."

"If you don't plan on talking to anyone, then you don't need your phone, do you?" Daehyun reached forward before Youngjae could reply, pulling the younger's phone out of his pocket and slipping it into his own. "Tell me you'd do anything I told you too."

"I'd do anything you want. I promise." Youngjae said.

"Lay on your back." Daehyun ordered, and Youngjae jumped to comply, trying not to cry harder when Daehyun slipped between his legs and rubbed their hips together, grinding slowly just for effect. The older gripped his chin roughly, forcing his head to tilt up at a painful angle so he couldn't even look at him. "I could fuck you right now, right here on the floor like the worthless slut you are. I could make you suck me off in between classes in front of everyone and fuck you over a lunch room table. You'd let me, wouldn't you? Because you're a little slut, and I'm starting to think with all this antagonism and hysterics you're letting out that you secretly like it like this." Youngjae whimpered slightly, trying to move away. He thought he wasn't supposed to have to deal with this anymore, why was it still happening? "That's just it then, this is all pretend? It has to be, because there's no way a normal, sane human being would be acting the way you are. Tell me you're sorry. Beg for forgiveness."

"Daehyun, I'm so sorry." Youngjae replied, trying to choke back the tears now. "I love you, Daehyun, so, so much. I didn't mean any of it! I'm so sorry, so, so sorry. Please forgive me. I didn't mean it. I didn't--" Youngjae couldn't keep talking because he was crying too hard, lost in his own tears because he was just so scared of what Daehyun might do to him.

There was a singular, gentle kiss pressed on his cheek over the newly forming bruise, and then Daehyun was pulling off him. "I think you need to go to bed, Youngjae. You could use to sleep this drunkenness off."

The older left then, taking the rest of the bottle of vodka with him as he went. Youngjae laid there crying for a while, trying to collect himself just a little before he'd go on. He could tell some staff members were watching on; they always were, right out of sight but there just in case. One of the maids had told him while Daehyun was out that if they interfered they'd get fired, but that they'd always be there ready to call an ambulance or the police if things got really bad. They all sympathized with the poor student now faced with Daehyun's manipulative rage; they had seen it enough times before.

Slowly, he picked himself up, still shaking and crying as he stumbled down the hall. Two of the staff members were following him, after having whispered to the others that they were going to make sure he didn't fall down the stairs on his way up.

Managing to get up safely, Youngjae trudged to his room and flopped on his bed, just barely remembering to remove the contacts before he was crying himself to sleep.

 

His head hurt when he woke up the next morning, in his room with two painkillers on the nightstand by his bed. Youngjae hadn't been so drunk as to forget what happened, and even if he had he could probably figure it out on his own. His arms were sore and most likely bruised from Daehyun yanking him around, and when he looked into the mirror there were to distinct bruises in the shape of fingerprints on his chin from where Daehyun had gripped his face while threatening him. The pain in his head was purely a headache from the hangover, and Youngjae knew that meant he was dehydrated, but the large bruise on his cheek could only be from one thing. He didn't even want to think of how bruised his ass must have been to hurt everytime he sat or something touched it.

There was a note taped to the inside of his door, telling him he had accidentally rolled off the couch last night while he was drunk, and might have injured himself. If that was what Daehyun wanted to pretend had happened, Youngjae would follow along with it. He went into his bathroom then, taking the painkillers with him and swallowing them down with a big glass of water in hopes that it would curse the pulsing in his brain. Putting water in his dry body made him feel sick, like he might puke, and he was just the pills wouldn't be easy on his stomach either. So he sat on the bathroom floor for a while, his head between his knees as he quickly ran through everything he knew about alcohol poisoning, hangovers, and what had happened the night before. Once he felt like he might not puke, he forced another full glass of water down his throat and waited for the nausea to fade a second time over.

Carefully, he picked himself off the floor and stripped off the clothes from the day before that still smelled heavily of Daehyun's cologne, making him sick all over again. It was easier to breathe when they were off.

The shower water was so hot it felt like he was trying to boil off his skin, staring at the pale flesh on his arms now marred with bruises that looks almost distinctly like hand prints. Taking his time, he imagined the water washing all of the alcohol off him, and debated what he could possibly do to make this situation better for him. At least he hand not ruined things to the point that Daehyun would subject him to that 'option three' he had threatened, as having Daehyun join his peers in their torture might make it impossible for him to stand, and he imagined it wouldn't stop even when he dropped out of the school. The pain pills might not have been Daehyun, although Youngjae liked to tell himself it was because it meant Daehyun cared about him the slightest bit, but the note had to be. It was Daehyun saying that they could pretend it didn't happen, that Youngjae had a chance still.

But what kind of chance was it and what was he going to have to do to keep it that way. Again, he remembered his fear from two days before, of Daehyun coming into the shower and forcing him onto his knees, shoving his cock down Youngjae's throat. So many times now, Daehyun had threatened similar things, but he never acted on them. He had never forced Youngjae to go farther than what he was comfortable with.

Youngjae stopped himself from praising Daehyun mentally for being a semi-decent human being in that way, it didn't change anything. There was something more important he needed to consider though: how far was he willing to go with Daehyun? If the older was still mad at him, surely just acting cute wouldn't be enough. Daehyun wouldn't just forgive him because Youngjae said he loved him. He was smart enough to know that, to know he was going to need to please Daehyun in some way to fix this. So he came to a conclusion. It wasn't something he was comfortable with doing, or something he wanted to do yet, but if Daehyun seemed to be as angry as he was the night before, Youngjae could stand it. All in the name of his safety, right? Maybe he really was a whore.

He pulled himself from the spray when his skin was red from the heat and the room had teamed so much he could barely see a thing. Drying quickly, he went back to examine his new clothes and decide what he wanted to wear, settling on pajama pants and what looked to be an old, worn T-Shirt. Upon putting it on, he could detect the scent of Daehyun, not his cologne but something else incomprehensibly  _him_. Youngjae didn't know how this shirt had wormed its way into his dresser, but compared to all of the expensive looking new clothing, this was better.

Food would surely help the raging headache he still had, specifically carbs, so he decided to head down to the kitchen and make puppy dog eyes at the cook until she realized he wanted breakfast, even if it was already noon.

The door was locked. His door had physically be locked from the outside, which was confusing because from what he remembered, the knob used to be the other way around. Yanking at the door several times, trying every method to get it open, he realized quickly he wasn't going to find a way out. It must have taken a lot of effort to take off the doorknob and turn it around while he was sleeping, without waking him at that. Either Youngjae had slept like the dead or Daehyun had hired someone with a lot of skill.

His stomach was grumbling now, excited at the prospect of food which he would not be getting until Daehyun let him out. Maybe he could text Daehyun and convince him to bring him something? Youngjae spent about five minutes searching through his room desperately for his phone before remembering Daehyun had taken it.

That was it, he was trapped. He wondered if this was part of his punishment, being locked in his room like a naughty child on a time out. How long would Daehyun leave him in here? Would it just be a couple hours or would it be a couple days? He didn't think screaming or knocking on the door would do him well so he just sat on the bed and tried to figure out what he could do in his room while he was waiting.

There were some new books on the bookshelf, ones Daehyun must have bought for him yesterday, both of the nonfiction and science-fiction varieties.

Maybe that was sweet, that the older had thought to get him something to read in his free time. He didn't care, he was too annoyed too. So instead he just picked a couple that looked interesting and flopped down on the bed to try to amuse himself.

The clock read half past three when the lock to his door clicked open and a nervous looking maid slid in carefully, a small tray of food on her thin arms. "Daehyun went out for a bit." She said softly. "I thought maybe you'd be hungry since he's kept you up here all day." She walked over to hand it to him, but Youngjae wouldn't touch it, wouldn't take it. He was barely acknowledging she was there and that made her worry just a bit. Placing the tray on the desk, she approached him carefully and pulled something out of her pocket, a small toothpaste-like tube. "This is supposed to be for bruises." She told him softly, reaching her hand out to show him. "It could help, maybe, it looks kind of bad..." She reached forward to touch his face and Youngjae felt the sting on his cheek as if it was still cemented there, hitting her hand away before it could even get close to him.

She looked shocked and a bit confused, furrowing her eyebrows as she stared at him. "I told you, he's not here right now. You won't get in trouble for this."

That's the thing, he  _knew_  he wouldn't get in trouble for it, but that changed nothing. He had already put himself in a bad place, something about being on his best behavior seemed right. He rolled over on his stomach then, ignoring her and going back to the book he was reading. She seemed confused, trying a couple more times before giving up and leaving the room.

She had left the door open and the tray on the desk, and about half an hour later another staff member came up to remove it, all the food on it left untouched despite how hungry Youngjae was. There was the definite click of the lock as the door shut, leaving Youngjae exactly how Daehyun had wanted him.

It was nearly eight at night when his door finally unlocked again, this time Daehyun appearing in the doorway. Youngjae rolled over and sat up, eyes down as the older approached him with one of the butler's behind him, carrying another tray with food on it. Without a word, Daehyun motioned for the butler to put it down and leave, the door closing behind him with a soft thud that echoed through the silent room. "Eat." Daehyun instructed, voice cold.

Youngjae nodded the slightest bit before he was shifting forward and eating what was in front of him, filling his empty belly as Daehyun took advantage of the space between Youngjae's back and the headrest, propping up the pillow and sliding behind him him so Youngjae was sitting between his legs.

There were hands softly rubbing at his sides as he ate, or when he ate so fast he choked a little they moved to rub his back gently instead, turning into a gentle massage as Youngjae finished his meal at a record pace.

When Youngjae had finished, a hand slid forward to flatten on his chest, pushing him back to lean against Daehyun. Youngjae let him, turning his head to press a soft cheek to Daehyun's jawline once his back was pressed up against the other's chest. "How's your head?" Daehyun asked, one arm wrapping firmly around Youngjae's waist while the other rubbed his head.

"I think I'm still hung over." Youngjae answered softly. "I must have had a lot to drink; I don't remember anything." He lied, liking how Daehyun kissed his hair lightly after as if he had done something right.

"It's okay, nothing really happened." Daehyun told him. "We just kept talking about language for a bit and then when we decided to go to bed you accidentally rolled off the couch. It looks like you got a couple bad bruises from it, too."

His arms loosened around Youngjae just long enough for the younger to make his 'escape', standing to move the tray to the desk with a quick, "I don't want to knock it off by accident," before he was returning to the bed. "I think I lost my phone or something." He said innocently. "I couldn't find it when I woke up this morning." He kneeled on the bed and pulled Daehyun until he was a bit closer to the middle of the headboard, feet straight out.

"I have it, one of the maids found it under the table this morning." Daehyun said calmly. "What are you doing?" He asked as Youngjae finished positioning him.

The younger settled on Daehyun's lap, straddling him and burying his face into the older's neck. "I don't know, I just wanted to hug you." He mumbled. "You were gone all day today, so I missed you." Daehyun seemed to have forgiven him now, so the younger wondered if he was really in the clear. Maybe Daehyun had decided he was over it. A harsh hand squeezing his side told him maybe that wasn't the case.

"Did anyone come in here while I was gone?"

Youngjae shook his head 'no', even if it was a lie. He didn't want to get that poor maid fired.

"Youngjae." Daehyun practically growled.

"Oh, right," He said innocently. "A maid came in at some point, but I was so distracted reading that I don't even know what for." Daehyun seemed to accept this, though his hands stayed rough as they held Youngjae in place. "How was your day?"

"It was fine." Daehyun replied. "I don't think I was as drunk as you last night, so I was able to go out and meet some friends." Youngjae was starting to realize Daehyun still wasn't entirely happy with him, but he wasn't sure how to deal with it. "I think staying in your room was good for today, don't you? Maybe tomorrow would be good too."

"But I want to spend tomorrow with you." Youngjae picked his head up, batting his eyelashes at Daehyun.

Daehyun's eyes narrowed, not seeming to fall for Youngjae's little tricks. "I think you want to spend it however I tell you too." He said calmly, accented by a rough squeeze to Youngjae's sides.

"You're right." Youngjae mumbled. His voice was barely audible when he spoke next, hard for Daehyun to hear. "Are you mad at me? You seem a bit like it..."

Daehyun nodded, much to Youngjae's dismay. "Yeah, I'm mad." He answered, not even downplaying to minimize Youngjae's fear.

So the younger decided to do what he had planned on doing if Daehyun was mad at him, pressing their foreheads together and mumbling out a soft, "I'm sorry," before he sealed their lips together. Daehyun didn't do anything immediate, so Youngjae decided to take his time and just kiss him slowly and gently, like he had liked the night before last.

Daehyun let him keep it gentle, humming softly when Youngjae parted his lips so compliantly to let his tongue in, fingers trailing up and down Youngjae's back as Youngjae's played with Daehyun's hair.

It was nice, with Daehyun following Youngjae's lead, only doing the things it seemed the younger liked best. He let out a soft breath when he pulled their lips apart, only to find Youngjae followed his, gently taking Daehyun's bottom lip between his teeth when he thought the older had caught his breath again. He sucked on the skin lightly before letting it go, please when Daehyun responded by pushing their lips together again. The gentleness was gone for just a second, as if Daehyun forgot that that was how he was supposed to be, marked by lips a little to rough together and Daehyun's tongue sliding all the way into his more with little warning.

But, a second later he had gone gentle again, running his finger tips up and down Youngjae's sides as the younger sucked on his tongue, doing his best to make it good even if he was so clearly inexperienced.

Daehyun pulled his lips away again, carefully sliding them down until they were just laying on the bed, Youngjae still straddling him as they resumed making out. Youngjae was starting to feel that pleasant heat coursing through his veins once again as he adjusted how he was laying so the he was only straddling one of Daehyun's legs.

He would have rathered it continued on that way, just gentle kissing that gave him a pleasant buzz. If he had thought this would be enough to keep Daehyun happy, he would have left it there, just continuing on. But it wasn't enough, some part of Youngjae screamed he needed to prove to Daehyun that he really was sorry, and willing to do what he had to to continue on how they had been. So, he pulled his lips away, ignoring Daehyun's confusion in favor of kissing Daehyun's neck, following the motions Daehyun usually took when leaving a hickey.

The older seemed happy with this, his breath a little fast as on hand held Youngjae's head where it was. He had started deluding himself then, telling himself his fragile Youngjae had only picked a fight because he loved Daehyun so much, but thought Daehyun didn't like him that much. Those wretched people at school must have tricked Youngjae into thinking he meant nothing. Of course, he knew it wasn't true, just like every other lie he told himself, but how much did it matter? He fully believed that reality was an entirely subjective experience, and that he could pick and choose the truths that pleased him and ignore the ones that didn't. At least he could be honest that he did it, as opposed to most who do and insist they do not.

The younger let a hand rest on Daehyun's chest, slowly sliding it down to do what he had thought was the maximum he could stand in order to complete his apology. He didn't want to do anything sexual like this yet, but the need to stay safe was higher than his own immediate comfort.

It wasn't until his hand was on Daehyun's lower abdomen that the older stopped him, pulling the hand away and lacing their fingers together. He used his other hand to pull Youngjae's hair just lightly enough to dislodge Youngjae's lips. "Youngjae." He called sweetly. "Let's not, okay? I know you aren't ready for anything like that. You don't have to."

Youngjae was distrustful of Daehyun's words. "I want to." He lied, ducking his head down when Daehyun reached their hands up and kissed the back of the younger's lovingly.

"No you don't." Daehyun answered, his voice holding no malice or issue. "And it's okay. Let's just cuddle instead."

Daehyun held him pretty much still until Youngjae nodded his head, and then rolled so the two of them were on their sides, foreheads pressed together again. "I love you." Youngjae murmured, snuggling into Daehyun's arms as the other gave him a soft squeeze.

"I love you too." Daehyun answered. "I promise, no matter what those idiots at school say or what I trick them into thinking, underneath it all there is still me, who loves you." He smiled when Youngjae shifted down just a bit to hide his face in the older's shoulder, petting his hair. Then came a soft humming, the same tune Daehyun always hummed, and Youngjae found it easier to relax.

"Are you still mad?" He asked in a small voice.

"No," Daehyun admitted. "How could one stay mad at someone who they love as much as I love you?"

It wasn't love. Youngjae wanted to scream it, whatever Daehyun felt for him was  _not_  love. It was sinister, dark, and possessive. He couldn't think of the word that would describe it, but he knew for sure that if Daehyun really did feel something for him, then what it was could not possibly be love. Of course, there was always the possibility that Daehyun felt nothing besides finding Youngjae amusing to play with, a highly likely possibility at that since Daehyun seemed to enjoy playing with people. However, there was that off chance that he did have feelings for him, creepy, jealous feelings.  "I don't know." Youngjae breathed back.

"If someone asked, Youngjae, what we were, what would you tell them? If they came up and asked 'what is Daehyun to you? Is he your boyfriend?' what would you say?" Daehyun asked.

"Probably nothing." Youngjae replied. "There's no point in me talking to anyone but you. But on the off chance I did respond, and it wasn't one of our parents, I would tell them that I'm yours."

"My what?" Daehyun asked.

"Just yours. I don't need anything more than that." Youngjae said.

"What if I wanted you to be my boyfriend or something?" Daehyun was clearly being very hypothetical with this question, Youngjae could tell.

He kissed the skin of Daehyun's jaw gently. "I'll be yours in whatever way you want me to be." He lied

Daehyun kissed his hair then, and Youngjae could feel him smiling. It fell silent then, but only after Daehyun whispered a belittling, "Good boy." He was Daehyun's pet.


	8. Chapter 8

Youngjae woke up in a cold sweat, just barely coming to reality quick enough to stop himself from screaming. Some part of him was still locked in the nightmare that had haunted his sleep, causing fear to pulse through his veins. He felt hunted, like something might pop up and attack him at any second.

It had been three months since he let Daehyun claim him, with finals and the end of term quickly approaching. For those three months he had barely any contact with anyone outside of Daehyun and his family, but still there were times when someone would forget what Daehyun would do to them for so much as looking at him, when someone would try to approach him needing a favor or annoyed at his supposed good fortune. The dream may have come from those people that hadn't learned yet, from those that still thought they could approach him.

He was panting, staring into space in his dark room as he tried to convince himself it was just a dream with no real implications towards reality. However, his breath kept coming quicker, his heart pounding, and his entire body trembling. He felt not quite there, unreal like he was still locked in that awful nightmare. Simultaneously seeing his panic from an outsiders perspective and experiencing it, Youngjae was caught up in a minor case of dissociation that he knew was dangerous.

As the panic attack only grew more problematic, Youngjae began to fear the shows covering his room, no matter how unreasonable he knew said fears were. He had dreamed Daehyun had disappeared, and his classmates had come after him again. They called him whore and slut as they did things to him that could not be repeated-- horrible, awful things that no one should suffer through. The feeling of being torn apart my their hands and bodies, of being violated beyond his actual experience, haunted him like the trauma it was, making the nightmare feel as though it was reality. It was only a dream. Now he was awake, but that didn't stop the fear mounting inside him, his whole body shaking so hard he worried he might hurt himself. It felt like someone was choking him, preventing air from entering his lungs so effectively that he might pass out or die.

This wasn't the first time this had happened to him. It wasn't the first time staring at the green numbers of a digital clock on the nightstand that read somewhere between two and four in the morning as he tried not to cry too loudly or scream. 3:55 a.m. He couldn't stop crying, couldn't stop the fear from coursing through his veins. His classmates who had created so much trauma, Youngjae was so afraid of them, afraid of what they could do to him. What if they heard his fear from their dorms and came after him? What was stopping them?

Daehyun.

Youngjae was running out of the room without a thought or care. The door slammed open and down the hallway he sprinted, the panic attack only fueling the adrenaline coursing through his veins.

He hastily threw open the door to Daehyun's room, only to remember that the older was sleeping. Youngjae didn't even know if he was allowed in here, if what he was about to do would result in him being punished. In his panicked state he did not care. This was the worst nightmare, the worst panic attack he had ever had and for the first time he could not stand it on his own.

But the room smelled like Daehyun, and that in itself brought some modem of comfort to him. That in itself made the panic quell to a manageable level. He took a couple seconds to breathe, to inhale the smell that was calming his nerves in the doorway, before he looked back into the hallway. It was quickly apparent that he couldn't go back to his room, as irrational fear of even stepping into the hallway where he wouldn't be close to Daehyun filled his head. So instead, he quietly closed the door behind him, slowly padding over to the bed in the pitch dark room.

With great care, he slipped under the covers, taking in deep breaths of Daehyun's scent to help the panic dissipate as he reminded himself in his mind that Daehyun would protect him from them. Most of the time, Daehyun was safe, and certainly while he was sleeping. Youngjae could take the punishment tomorrow if it meant immediate comfort in the now, whether he would be hit or if it would be bad enough of a crime in Daehyun's mind to deserve a spanking or to be hit by his belt. It wasn't as though the older hadn't stopped punishing him or just generally being awful to him over the past couple of months, Youngjae had just become a better actor, a better liar, and better at following Daehyun's strict rules. Somehow this was still more safe then being on his own, though, and that spoke wonders to how awful and terrifying his classmates were.

Youngjae had never slept in Daehyun's bed before. He was only ever even brought in this room when Daehyun thought he deserved rewarding, usually through soft kisses that brought an exciting heat to his blood, and the next time Daehyun took him up here, Youngjae had planned on letting him have more. It had been three months of only kissing and innocent touches, with Daehyun respecting that Youngjae needed things to be slow. He let roaming fingers join the mix recently, but they had never gotten close to encroaching on his comfort line. Something about that made him feel more comfortable with Daehyun.

He could feel his entire view on the world being skewed; the longer he was with Daehyun the more he tried to reason away the problems with their relationship.  _Relationship_ , that itself was a recent development partially because  _this thing Daehyun forced me into_  took too long to say in his head.

He hadn't intended to touch Daehyun at all, trying to convince himself that just laying next to the older would be enough for him to be able to breathe again. But there were still soft trembles and his heart was still beating a bit too hard. Daehyun's back was facing him, so the younger rolled to his side, very lightly putting his arm around the older and then over the course of a couple minutes, moving forward to snuggle into the heat until he was comfortable enough to sleep.

Daehyun's even breathes moved his arm slightly with each rise and fall, a steady rhythm that calmed Youngjae's heart and made it easier for him to relax. Quietly, in his head, he reminded himself that Daehyun would keep him safe, and that the only thing to fear was the sting on his cheek he would almost certainly be facing in the morning. It was once or twice a week that he'd be hit, something small and manageable that got farther and farther apart the longer they were together. Occasionally, he would do something Daehyun thought warranted a spanking or rarely, a couple cracks from his belt, but it was so far few and in between that Youngjae didn't fear it excessively.

His eyes fell shut, snuggled into Daehyun's back so they were spooning. With a couple deep breaths, Youngjae was able to drift off once more.

 

Brightness hit his eyelids turning them pink, accompanied by the feeling of soft fingers trailing up and down his side. The air around his face, half hidden under the covers, was cold but the rest was hot, sharing the heat of the body pressed against his. From what he could tell, his arms were thrown carelessly over Daehyun's shoulders, head resting nearly directly above his heart as he listened to the steady beat. His legs were tangled with Daehyun's, feet pressed together for warmth even if they were under the covers.

He tried to show no signs that he was awake, enjoying the feeling, instead, of Daehyun's arm light around his middle, fingers brushing his side in comforting movements. His other hand was on Youngjae's head, just resting there, and for some reason it felt nice. It was pretty obvious Daehyun was awake since he was moving often, but given that he hadn't done anything yet, Youngjae wagered that he wasn't so upset at finding him in his bed.

It felt serene, a slow Sunday morning laying in bed. Youngjae wanted to pretend to be asleep just a little longer, to enjoy this feeling like he was being taken care of. It was oddly nice knowing that Daehyun was so sweet even when he thought Youngjae was asleep.

He could feel the older shift around slightly, making Youngjae move so he was a little less on top of him, while seeming to be carefully avoiding waking Youngjae up. Because of that, Youngjae pretended to still be asleep, shifting around until he was comfortable and then settling still again, monitoring his breaths to keep them calm and even. "Today's going to be a good day, isn't it?" Daehyun mumbled to himself, and then Youngjae could feel him shifting again and lips were pressed against his hair lovingly. Those lips stayed there for a long time, just pressing themselves onto his head through his hair. "I wonder why you're here." Daehyun whispered, trailing his fingers up and down Youngjae's side again, but it was evident from his voice that he thought Youngjae was still very much unconscious.

There were plenty of things Youngjae would guess Daehyun would do to him while he was unconscious, but this was oddly not one of them. On the list of reactions Daehyun might have to finding out Youngjae had snuck into his bed in the middle of the night, 'lay there and try not to wake him up' was not one of them. But there was Daehyun, still laying there and cuddling him, occasionally kissing his hair of his forehead gently.

"He just looks so cute when he's asleep." Daehyun whispered to himself, sounding like a small, amazed child as he brushed Youngjae's bangs out of his eyes. "You look like an angel." He whispered next, and Youngjae shifted around a bit because his arms were getting to be uncomfortable with the current position they were in. "No, no, no." Daehyun mumbled. "Don't wake up." Then he was humming softly, that tune he always hummed, and after two months of conditioning there was instant relaxation accompanying it. Once Daehyun thought Youngjae had fallen back asleep, he carefully rolled them onto their sides, sliding down to be eye-level with the 'sleeping' boy and pecking his nose gently. "You're the most precious thing I've ever seen in the world." Daehyun whispered, petting Youngjae's hair. "I'm so glad you're mine, so glad I don't have to share this beauty with anyone." There were lips pecking his but Youngjae didn't respond, knowing Daehyun still hadn't realized he was awake.

"I'd lock you in here to keep you all to myself, if you'd let me." Daehyun admitted in a very quiet voice. "But the fact that you already let me do so much of what I want to you is amazing enough." It was silent for a long while, only filled by Daehyun's soft humming as he played with the younger's hair. Then came another quiet admission, "One day, you'll love me, Youngjae. I know you only say it now to humor me, to make sure I'll keep those bad people away from you, but one day you'll mean it. And that's the day I'll have won." It was quiet again for a minute or two, still so obvious Daehyun wasn't aware. "You can't win this, you know that right? You're fighting against it so much still, because you don't like all the pretending, do you? But you're smart, you know studies have shown that if you fake something long enough, you'll start to believe it yourself. Maybe that's why you're here, or maybe you want something. Is it expensive, baby? I'll buy it for you anyway." Daehyun promised. After a little more silence, Daehyun shifted again, a bit farther away from Youngjae. The younger let out a soft whine, shifting close and moving his arms to wrap around Daehyun's middle, burying his head in the older's shoulder.

"Sh," Daehyun said softly, humming his tune again until Youngjae managed to even his breath and re-enter mock sleep. "I want to enjoy this. I don't want you to wake up yet." He hummed for several minutes, petting Youngjae's hair as he waited to be sure that Youngjae was completely asleep. Once he was sure, he spoke again, in that same hushed voice he was using in hopes that it wouldn't 'wake up' Youngjae. "Precious Youngjae.  _My_  Youngjae. I'm going to make you fall for me. I'm going to make you love me. You're already mine, it won't take much more. Just a little bit longer and you'll be mine in every way."

It was silent, and despite Daehyun's creepy words he found himself comfortable enough to fall back asleep for a short while. He didn't know how long it was only that when he woke up Daehyun's was still there, humming and petting his hair.

He let out a soft whining noise at being awake, scrunching his eyes up gently and wondering if all of that before had been real or a dream. It was very possible he had just  _dreamed_  Daehyun saying all of those things, Daehyun who was now chuckling at Youngjae's tired whining as he tried to curl up into Daehyun and go back to sleep. "Good morning, baby." Daehyun cooed, kissing the top of his head gently.

"No, I don't want to wake up." Youngjae whined back, causing Daehyun to laugh an amused but quiet laugh. "I'm going back to sleep."

"No, you're not." Daehyun answered, still laughing a little. "I've been laying here for three hours now, it's time to wake up." He started pecking at Youngjae's head again, and when the younger lifted it from his shoulder, his face, covering it in soft kisses that made Youngjae giggle and his face burn.

"You didn't need to do that." Youngjae mumbled with embarrassment. The surprise sensation of cold met his face as Daehyun slid his glasses on for him; he must have gotten them from a staff member while Youngjae was asleep.

"I wanted to." Daehyun replied, and then he was tickling Youngjae making the younger writhe and convulse a bit as he fought of the laughter overtaking him. "Come on, time to wake up."

Youngjae rolled on his back in hopes of getting away, but Daehyun straddled him to pin him down and start tickling him again. "Fine, fine!" Youngjae cried, still laughing so hard he couldn't breathe as Daehyun pulled away to just sit on top of him. "Daehyunnie is so mean to me." Youngjae whined, pouting softly. Daehyun moved to roll off him, but Youngjae didn't want the warmth of his body to go away, snuggling back into the older the moment he was next to him.

"I thought we were getting up." Daehyun teased, liking how Youngjae kissed his neck in response.

"Just because we're awake doesn't mean we have to get up." Youngjae whined back. "Can't we just lay around and cuddle for a bit?" He asked sweetly, batting his eyes up at Daehyun.

"Whatever this thing you want is, it must be really expensive." Daehyun mumbled to himself.

"What?" Youngjae asked.

"Is there something you want me to buy you, baby?" Daehyun replied. "You know, whatever it is, I'll get it for you. Nothing is too expensive for me." The words held no annoyance or malice, just the incorrect line of thinking Daehyun was currently on.

"Nope." Youngjae cheered. "There's nothing I want you to buy." He watched excited confusion fill Daehyun's features at the thought that Youngjae was currently in his bed for some reason other than to get material possessions. "The only things I want right now are to cuddle Daehyunnie and kiss Daehyunnie." He lied, just because he knew it would make the older happy with him. "And maybe pancakes." He added, after his stomach growled. That set Daehyun off giggling again.

When he had calmed down, he seemed to grow a bit serious. "Hey, Youngjae. Look in my eyes." He instructed, Youngjae complying. "Why'd you sneak in here last night?" He asked. "Did something happen?"

"I had a nightmare." Youngjae admitted, knowing that Daehyun was particularly good at telling when he was lying if he was looking him in the eyes.

"About what?" Daehyun prompted.

" _Them_." Youngjae said in a hushed whisper, face a bit red. It was clear Daehyun didn't understand him so he continued. "I dreamed that you had left me and then our classmates came after me. And they did awful things that I don't want to think about and--" Youngjae had to stop because a couple tears were gathering up in his eyes.

"So why'd you come here?" Daehyun asked.

"Because you said you'd protect me from them." Youngjae answered, before admitting, "and you make me feel safe. I was really scared, but being around you makes me feel better."

Daehyun was smiling, like Youngjae had said something right, and then they were kissing, just like that because Daehyun knew Youngjae was telling the truth. The older pulled away after a second or two to rest their foreheads together, but Youngjae had learned that when he had gotten Daehyun into a good mood like this, if he kept it up the good karma could last him a full week. The last time he had gotten Daehyun to be this happy with him, the older had let him talk to the cook and have a full-blown conversation without getting the littlest bit angry with him. Maybe if he got Daehyun happy enough, he'd be allowed to use his phone without the older monitoring to make sure he was only texting his parents.

So, he rolled them over so that he was on top of Daehyun, straddling him and pressing their lips together again. Daehyun tugged on his hair ever-so lightly and so Youngjae pulled away to look him in the eyes. "Is it that expensive?" Daehyun asked. "Is it a fancy car? Did you lose your free tuition?"

Youngjae pouted. "I just want to kiss you. Why do you keep thinking it's something else?"

"Seriously?" Daehyun asked. "It's more expensive than the tuition, wow. Is it a private island? Because you know my family already has a couple, it won't cost me any money to give one of them to you."

"Daehyun." Youngjae whined. "Why can't I just want to kiss you? You're my boyfriend, and you're being really sweet. That's the only reasons why."

"You promise you're not going to ask me to buy you something?" Daehyun asked, seeming wary. "There isn't someone at school you want me to get rid of or some other thing you need me to do?"

"The only thing I  _need_  is you." Youngjae replied, and it wasn't entirely a lie. The only thing he needed was for Daehyun to favor him so he would have a marginal amount of freedom for this week. He had become a good enough liar to accomplish that, though. "And the only thing I want is to get to kiss you without you thinking it's me trying to get something."

Daehyun's eyes were a bit darker than normal as he rolled them over so he was on top, in between Youngjae's legs. The younger wasn't sure if he was about to get hit or kissed given the way Daehyun was looking at him, but context-wise the latter made much more sense. Plump lips met with his and Youngjae let out a happy hum because he was accomplishing what he wanted. Daehyun above him chuckled a bit, kissing him gently in the way he knew Youngjae liked. He only kissed roughly now when he was upset, otherwise he'd bend into doing exactly what Youngjae liked and nothing else.

The younger opened his mouth lightly, taking Daehyun's lower lip into his mouth and sucking, a little harsher than the kiss because he knew Daehyun preferred it that way. His fingers started roaming over the older's skin, lightly over his arm and squeezing when he got to the other's biceps. The other laughed a bit, pulling his lip away and getting Youngjae back into the kiss, flexing his muscles a little when Youngjae squeezed them again.

Now was as good of a time as any, in Youngjae's mind, as far as letting Daehyun go further. It didn't disgust him any more, not when he knew Daehyun was going to be gentle and respect what he was comfortable with. Even if he still didn't like Daehyun all too much, he couldn't deny that he liked the feeling he got when they kissed. Some bit of it scared him, that he was so willing to be like this just for a good feeling and his own safety. Outside of his nightmares, he had nearly forgotten what it was like in that month without Daehyun, but his nightmares were enough to keep him afraid.

His fingers trailed under the older's shirt, daring cold touches exploring the warm, firm flesh. He had seen Daehyun shirtless a couple times, so he knew of the muscles hiding under there. Something about it was enticing, and Youngjae had caught himself thinking of it more than once, forcing that same gentle heat ing his veins that kissing did.

Daehyun's hand came to stop his on his lower abdomen while it was on a path to somewhere lower down, holding it there for a couple seconds as he broke the kiss. "What are you doing, babe?" He asked, voice low.

"I want to touch you." Youngjae answered, biting his lips a little.

"Why do you want to do that?" Daehyun's voice sounded a little dark, his face looked a little concerned. "Did you do something bad Youngjae? Are you trying to make me happy with you so that when I find out you won't get punished?"

"Why do you keep thinking I have some ulterior motive?" Youngjae answered.

"You know why." Daehyun answered, unamused. Youngjae did know, it was because so much of what he did was  _use_  Daehyun. He would be sweet and cute for a couple days before asking for something he wanted, and he always forgot that it could hurt Daehyun. It was hard to believe the older actually had feelings most of the time, Youngjae was still partially sure he didn't. Daehyun thought Youngjae had an ulterior motive because he knew the younger didn't actually like him that much yet.

"Fine." Youngjae answered, meeting Daehyun's eyes so the older would know it was the truth. "I have an ulterior motive. It's to make you happy because I like it when your happy." While that was all the truth, the rest was a lie so he pouted indignantly and looked away. When Daehyun was happy, though, he didn't get hit or yelled at or told he was worthless, what wasn't to like? "Can't I just want to do things with my sexy boyfriend? Gosh, if you're going to be like this, maybe I should just go and--" Youngjae was cut off my Daehyun's kissing him, proud of how his act had effectively worked in his favor. He really was getting good at this game they played; maybe one day he's be good enough to be able to ignore Daehyun's rules entirely.

"I'm sorry for doubting you so much, baby. Promise me you aren't mad?" Daehyun said, although he could really care less if Youngjae was.

"I am, a little." Youngjae replied, trying to play things off to his advantage. "You'll have to make it up to me."

Daehyun cracked a smile, leaning down so his hot breath puffed against Youngjae's ear. It sent uncomfortable shivers down Youngjae's spine that it seemed Daehyun had mistaken for something else. "And how to you want me to do that?"

 _This was it_. Youngjae promised himself it was for his greater good, and so long as he didn't puke there was literally no way for this to go wrong. "Touch me." He replied. Daehyun's teeth nipped harshly at his earlobe, hands coming to squeeze his sides rough, like he was angry. Youngjae tried to figure out what he had done wrong, but he was somewhat clueless.

"Is that an order, Youngjae?" Daehyun teased. "I think that's my job. I'll have to punish you to remind you of your place." Youngjae stiffened blow him, waiting for some amount of pain to come. Daehyun seemed pleased that Youngjae was still some amount of afraid of him. "Beg." Daehyun instructed.

"Daehyunnie, please." Youngjae begged, now practically trained to follow Daehyun's every order. It was unconscious to him now, he just did it, without even thinking. "Please touch me."

"Good boy." Daehyun cooed. Youngjae was still indignant to be referred to in such a way, to be treated like a pet. But at the same time he couldn't stop the happiness those words brought, the comfort. Those words were reserved for the time when Daehyun was about to reward him for good behavior, for when he was about to be kissed or cuddled or comforted. "Now why don't you call me by that name I like."

"Master." Youngjae responded, without a thought to what the word meant. 

Warm fingers skidded across his lower abdomen, slipping under Youngjae's pajama pants to feel the intimate skin hidden underneath. Light touches teased at Youngjae's skin, making him feel hotter than he was used to. "Are you sure?" Daehyun asked. Youngjae nodded, some part of him actually just trying to reassure himself. He could do this. Daehyun wasn't going to wait forever, so it was either baby steps or everything at once. Recently, Youngjae had seem him grow impatient, frustrated when they'd make out and then stop. Just like every other thing he had done, if this would ensure his safety, he could stand it.

Gentle fingers wrapped around him, and Youngjae let out a soft moan. He was innocent, it was all new to him. And it all felt so, so good.

 

They spent the morning in bed together, but around lunch time Daehyun decided to go out to meet with Himchan and Suzy, leaving Youngjae alone in the dorm. He was sitting in one of the pseudo-living rooms on his phone, just amazed at the fact that Daehyun had given it back to him without Youngjae having to ask for it. For the past three months, he had only been allowed to have it when he was going to class or needed to talk to his parents.

"You must've really made him happy." One of the maids, Sojin, laughed. "He never lets you use that thing."

Youngjae shrugged. "I'm just getting better at this." He defended. It was pretty typical for him to chat with them when Daehyun wasn't around. "You said you've been working for him for a couple years, right? Is he always like this?"

"Like what?" Sojin responded. "That boy is a lot of things, you're going to have to be more specific."

"Well, like, possessive, manipulative, moody, I don't know..." Youngjae couldn't find the word to describe it.

Sojin raised her eyebrows, taking a sip from the soda she was drinking instead of doing her work. "Yeah, he's always been like that. His favorite past time in high school was bringing girls back to his dorm and convincing them they were worth nothing so that they'd do what he wanted. And the things I've seen him do to scholarship students, my gosh. He really knows how to fuck up someone in the head."

"Do you think he'll do anything awful to me?" He asked.

"He already has." Sojin replied, raising an eyebrow. "Or have you forgotten?"

"Well, besides the hitting." Youngjae answered. "I can deal with that, it's nothing  _awful_. He only does it when I deserve it."

Sojin laughed a little, some dry, mildly bitter laugh. "Boy, has he got you brainwashed already. You've got a little fight left in you, that's why you don't see it, but thinking about what the boy three months ago would have thought at seeing himself now..."

"I'm not brainwashed." Youngjae answered.

"No, of course not." Sojin rolled her eyes. "You just follow all his rules and defend him because you  _like_  being locked up in here waiting for the next time he'll come home and molest you."

"He doesn't molest me." Youngjae answered. "And I don't always follow his rules! I just don't go out there because of what they'll do to me."

Sojin took another sip of soda. "Run away in fear?" She asked. "He's molded these kids like putty in his hands, kid, they're terrified of you. Or do you not remember whoever that girl was from last week, the one who tried to help you up when you tripped?"

"Lee Jieun." A passing maid informed her of the girl's name.

"Right, that Jieun girl." Sojin said, motioning to Youngjae with her soda as if he should remember what happened with that outside of Daehyun spanking him for letting someone touch him.

"What about her?" Youngjae asked. "I mean, yeah it was a little unfair that I got bruises for it, but it's not like he was being particularly awful about it."

"He made her boyfriend break up with her." Sojin answered. She came here to beg his forgiveness while you were still in class and he just slammed the door on her face."

"And also," Another maid ducked her head into the room, "him giving you bruises shouldn't ever be deemed 'not awful', Youngjae."

"Give him a break." Sojin told her. "He's been manipulated for three months now, it's amazing he even willingly talks to us anymore." She turned back to him. "Seriously, you won't even reply when your friends from home text you. He's brainwashed you into thinking you can't talk to anyone else."

"Texting them isn't like chatting with you." Youngjae replied. "With you once the words are said, they're over. Unless one of us tells, he won't find out. And no one would tell, because all of you would be fired in some fashion that would make sure you never work again, and I would probably get hit for it. But texting them back, he can take my phone and see it whenever."

"You do realize you can delete it after you send it, right?" Sojin asked. "And I'm pretty sure he'd lock you in your room for a week if he found out how much you talk to us."

"No he wouldn't." Youngjae denied. "He likes me, he wouldn't do something awful like that."

"He's done it before." Sojin answered. "Seriously, I didn't expect a smart boy like you to get brainwashed by him so quickly. You're losing all you defiance." She stood up then, readying to return to work. "Soon enough all you'll want to talk about is how perfect and wonderful he is, because he didn't hit you  _that hard_  even though you forgot to kiss him the right number of times for buying your lunch. Then, you won't even talk to us anymore because precious, wonderful Daehyun doesn't want you to." Her voice was mocking. "Enjoy selling your soul, kid." She told him as she walked out of the room.

Youngjae felt indignant, tempted to text Daehyun and get her fired. But he sighed, he couldn't do that when he knew she had a point. Instead, he decided just to continue with his plan to make Daehyun happy with him.

**To: Daehyun <3**

**I hope you're having fun~ I miss you!**

He'd do this whenever he had his phone, sending cute text messages to Daehyun that he would be rewarded for later, normally by letting him have his phone for longer periods of time. It didn't seem to occur to him that it wasn't normal for Daehyun to constantly be taking his phone.

Daehyun never replied to the text messages, only ever reading them and rewarding Youngjae when he got home.

He sat around for a while doing nothing then, staring blankly at his phone as Sojin's words rang in his head. He wasn't brainwashed, he told himself. He could break the rules if need be. Maybe he should text one of his friends from home, he hadn't talked to any of them in four months or so, since school started. Looking around with a small amount of nervousness, Youngjae brought up a new message on his phone.

**From: Y.Jay**

**Hey**

Zelo was the kid who lived next door to him for most of his life, and his absolute best and only friend growing up. He was a genius just like Youngjae, currently in the same high school program Youngjae had been in the year before. It felt natural, normal to be texting him, even if he was scared Daehyun would find out.

The response was near immediate, making Youngjae chuckle to himself.

**From: Zelo**

**You're alive???**

**From: Zelo**

**Oh my god. We thought you were dead.**

**From: Zelo**

**I've got to tell everyone, they'll be so happy to change out of their mourning clothing.**

**From: Y.Jay**

**Don't be such a smart ass, I was just busy with school.**

**From: Zelo**

**It's been four months. What were you expecting?**

**From: Y.Jay**

**"Hi hyung. Long time no see, how are you?"**

**From: Zelo**

**Are you sure you're texting the right person then?**

**From: Zelo**

**Please tell me you'll be home soon.**

To be completely honest, Youngjae had no clue what was going to happen with break. It was two weeks away, but Youngjae wasn't entirely convinced Daehyun wouldn't force him to spend the four week break with him. Maybe he'd go home with Youngjae? The younger would have to earn himself some serious good karma to be able to interact with his friends then. Maybe he could convince himself to stomach giving the older a blow job... Zelo's text interrupted his line of thought.

**From: Zelo**

**Please, I miss you.**

Youngjae sighed, again looking around him to make sure Daehyun wasn't lurking anywhere. He was quickly realizing something truly awful could happen to him if he was caught doing this. But at the same time, he couldn't leave his friend hanging.

**From: Y.Jay**

**Two more weeks, I miss you too.**

He'd just have to pray Daehyun didn't find out.


	9. Chapter 9

Daehyun came home to silence, not even the maids giggling like they'd be sometimes. It was relaxing to say the least, but something felt wrong. Little waves electricity ran over his skin as his body picked up on his unease. He reminded himself that he was the one in control. "Mr. Jung." The butler greeted him with a bow, a young-ish man with a plain look to him, teeth a little crooked but otherwise always very well kept. "You're home early; we weren't expecting you for another hour." His voice was louder than normal, as if he was trying to warn someone else of Daehyun's presence. The student swore he could hear scrambling in one of the other rooms

"My plans changed." Daehyun responded, shrugging off his jacket to hand to the man. "Expect some of my friends in an short while, make sure someone sets up the movie system is set up properly." After a second, Daehyun's voice took up a low quality, not wanting his question to be overheard. "How has he behaved today?" He asked.

"As awful as ever." The butler answered in disdain, looking to the den where Youngjae was rather than risking Daehyun catching his lie by looking the student in the eyes. "He still won't talk to us, he doesn't even acknowledge we're there. Mr. Yoo even refused to look at the cook when he wanted dinner, instead he just sat in the kitchen and pouted at the wall until she brought him something." The butler sighed in fake distress. Daehyun didn't need to know that Youngjae regularly talked to them. He didn't need to know that the dorm became relaxed and friendly the moment he was gone. 

"Wonderful." Daehyun answered, following the butler's eye to the den. "He's in the den then?"

"Yes, Sir." The butler answered. "Right where you left him. He hasn't left that spot other than for food and bathroom breaks." Daehyun took steps towards the room and the butler called after him, "Mr. Jung."

"If you are trying to stall me," Daehyun drawled out, annoyance dripping from his tone, "to protect someone, I assure you there will be consequences."

The butler shifted nervously, quickly coming up with an excuse. "Of course not, Sir, I was just wondering if I should set the cook on bringing you something to eat or drink." Daehyun looked back, though he didn't seem as suspicious as before. In truth, he was. Something felt wrong to him and he was more alert towards the butler's manner. At the same time, maybe it was just him.

"No, I'm fine." He answered. "No one is to enter the den until my friends arrive unless called for."

"Yes, Sir." The butler replied, a little worried Daehyun was about to do something to Youngjae.

Daehyun was quick to survey the den when he entered, completely devoid of anything suspicious or abnormal. Youngjae caught his eye, though, asleep on the large leather couch with his legs tucked in and phone clutched to his chest.  _His_  Youngjae, so beautiful and calm, it made Daehyun's heart pound. He wanted to destroy that beauty, to possess it for himself and then destroy it slowly. 

The student sat on the floor next to the couch, kissing the sleeping Youngjae's lips softly for a couple seconds, just because he could. Those lips were his to kiss, after all, no objections could be made to him kissing them as much as he liked. "Still so much like an angel." Daehyun mumbled, eyes focused on Youngjae's face. "One day, you'll be all mine." He added softly. The older wanted to possess him, to own him and every way. He wanted to have Youngjae as his puppet, his pet, his toy - loyal, obedient, subservient, and submissive. That was love, right? All of his thoughts were of Youngjae, there was nothing more important to focus on. Being away from the younger bothered him, he'd rather have Youngjae by his side all the time, or better, locked away where no one else could get to him. That was love, right? He wanted mar the beauty in front of him, to destroy him and leave him as a shell of who he was - a compliant, scared little shell that would do as he was told. That was love, right? The desire to possess, to own, to control Youngjae in every way and share him with no one consumed Daehyun. That was love, right?  Of course it was, and so Daehyun loved him. What else could the feeling be?

He spent a while just staring at his possession's face, in it's innocent, unmarred glory. Daehyun hadn't left a bruise of those fluffy cheeks in a while, let those he had left fade off to nothing but a slight hue, only there when one was looking closely for it. But eventually his attention shifted to the phone in Youngjae's hands, gripped onto loosely and held to his chest. Worry consumed him quickly; that feeling that something was wrong returned. Carefully, he slid the phone out of Youngjae's hands, slipping one of his own into its place. Youngjae shifted ever so slightly, clutching Daehyun's hand a little tighter than he had been clutching the phone and pulling it closer to his chest, over his slowly beating heart. Such cute motions made it impossible not to lean forward, impossible for lips to not leave a soft kiss on the younger's chin.

Unlocking Youngjae's phone, he went to dig through his open apps for anything suspicious or flat out against the rules. First were a couple puzzle games, which had clearly been beaten and discarded, and then was the message app and that was it. It wasn't unusual for Daehyun to go through Youngjae's texts, he saw nothing wrong with it. The top conversation was that of him and his parents, they were discussing Christmas and how if they were to pay for Youngjae's bus ticket home, they wouldn't be able to afford Christmas dinner. Daehyun felt confused pity as to how they couldn't afford both, nor why Youngjae thought he was taking the bus home. Clearly Daehyun was going to drive him. He had thought that didn't need saying, but apparently he was wrong. He scrolled through the conversation a little more, only to feel a little depressed by it. How did poor people live? They couldn't even afford the bus ticket without the whole family working through Christmas anyway!

The next conversation was one that made Daehyun suspicious, some kid named 'Zelo' was texting his precious Youngjae, and that was not okay. He opened only to be relieved that Youngjae had not answered any of the several texts that detailed how much whoever this kid was missed Youngjae and wanted him to come back home. It made Daehyun a little angry, but at least Youngjae hadn't answered. Then he thought he might lose control for a little while.

He leaned away for a second to put Youngjae's phone on the table, and then he was back to cup the younger's cheek with his free hand and kiss the younger roughly, hoping it would be enough to wake the sleeping boy up. There was a slight whining noise, and then lips kissing back, no longer still against his. The older instantly stopped the roughness, letting the kiss go back to the gentle way Youngjae liked. One day the younger would love him enough to not object, one day he would be so well trained as to let Daehyun kiss him however he wanted. But for now, Youngjae seemed to be happy when Daehyun kissed him gently, seemed to want more of it when it was that way. Their gentle kiss lasted a couple seconds before Daehyun pulled away to stare into Youngjae's eyes. "Hey, baby. Miss me much?" He asked softly.

Youngjae nodded his head gently clutching Daehyun's hand in his as the older started playing with his hair. 

Daehyun smiled softly. "I missed you too, so I came home early." He said. Being away from the younger was nerve-wracking. What if Youngjae got scared and needed him? What if he got lonely and tried to talk to someone else? What if something happened to him? Every second away from the younger was filled with intrusive and excessive thoughts of him, reassured only by the periodic text messages he'd receive. "Suzy and Himchan are coming over to watch movies." Daehyun said next. "They went to eat first so I don't know how long they'll be. I want you to talk to them, alright? I know you don't like to, but they'll think you're unwell if you don't." They both knew it was a lie, knew Youngjae wasn't talking to people because Daehyun would hit him if he did.

"I don't want to." Youngjae lied. "But if you want me to, then I will."

Daehyun squeezed his hand gently in response. "Good boy." He mumbled softly. It was silent for a second or two before Daehyun spoke again. "Youngjae, I have a request. There's something I want for you for Christmas."

Youngjae gulped slightly. "What?"

"Well, like, I'm driving you home anyway, since I need to be in Seoul to pick up--" Daehyun was cut off.

"You're driving me home?" Youngjae asked in shock, eyes suddenly shifting to his phone. 

Daehyun handed it to him, "of course. You're not taking a bus with all of those possibly crazy people.  As I was saying, I need to be in Seoul the next day anyway to pick up my sisters from school and take them back to Busan with me." He was interrupted again.

"You have sisters?" Youngjae asked.

"Yeah." Daehyun shrugged. "I have two. One is seven and the other is thirteen, they go to the primary and middle schools." He waited a second to see if Youngjae would interrupt him again before continuing. "But  _anyway_  there's only one thing I want from you for Christmas, and if I get anything else I'll be upset. "

"Ok." Youngjae answered. He seemed nervous, like Daehyun was going to request something he wasn't comfortable giving.

Maybe, that would be the case. "I want to stay over at your place the night before I go pick my sisters up." He said, voice a bit firm, demanding maybe. "Don't whine that I'd be better off in a hotel, if we're going to be in the same city then I want to spend my time with you."

"Ok." Youngjae said, face a little twisted in confusion. "But just remember that my apartment is about the size of this room."

"How do you fit four people into an apartment that small?" Daehyun asked.

"It's not hard." Youngjae replied, in his own opinion the room was just ridiculously large. "Besides, it'll be five since my brother's girlfriend will be there. Six if you are too. Are you really sure that's what you want?"

"Yeah." Daehyun answered. "Don't worry, I'll get thank you gifts for your parents and everything. Just tell me what they'd like later, okay?"

"You don't have--"

"I want to." Daehyun asserted.

"We don't really do Christmas gifts." Youngjae said. "We usually just have a nice meal and rest."

Daehyun shrugged. "Well, text your parents to tell them your amazing boyfriend is coming over and bringing gifts for everyone this year. All I want in return is a place to sleep." He smiled as Youngjae went to excitedly text the message to his parents, asking what they'd want since Daehyun was going to insist.

"Thank you so much." Youngjae mumbled softly.

Daehyun laughed a little. "Why are you thanking me? This is your present to me, Youngjae." He leaned in to connect their lips softly, a sweet kiss broken by his words. "Thank you." He nuzzled into Youngjae's face gently, only to be caught in another kiss the younger had initiated, letting go of Daehyun's hand in favor of running his fingers through Daehyun's hair and trying to keep him in the kiss.

Slowly moving lips kept together for minutes on end, not breaking until Youngjae started to try pulling Daehyun closer. Daehyun broke it in favor of staring at him blankly, at that flushed face and glazed over eyes that were staring at him in confusion. "Come back, I want to kiss you more." The younger whined.

There was a sinking in the pit of Daehyun's stomach - Youngjae wanted something, didn't he? Daehyun was so sure of it, from the moment he woke up with Youngjae in his bed on he had been suspicious. The younger being so sweet, compliant, and  _clingy_  wasn't helping with that. Youngjae was never clingy unless he wanted something. "What is this thing you want so bad?" Daehyun asked, his voice having a more angry tone than that of his voice that morning. "You know I'll buy it for you. You don't need to butter me up first. Just tell me what you want and stop playing with me."

"How many times do I have to say that I don't want anything, that I just want to kiss you?" Youngjae asked, voice soft.

"It would be quicker to tell the truth." Daehyun answered darkly.

"You really want me to want something?" Youngjae asked. "You really want to pass this off as me trying to deceive you?"

"I just want you to get it over with!" Daehyun answered. "I swear, if you don't tell me now, I won't buy it for you at all. I don't care how expensive it is, okay? Tell me now and it's yours. Leave it for later and it's not happening. I'll just be angry."

"It's really expensive though." Youngjae mumbled, not meeting Daehyun's eyes all of a sudden.

Daehyun slumped a little. "I'll get it for you anyway." His tone sounded defeated, he had held some hope he was wrong. "Just tell me what it is, I can probably have it here by tomorrow. Tonight, if it's made in Korea."

"I just have to name it and you'll give it to me?" Youngjae asked.

"Yeah." Daehyun's voice was still so defeated, sad even. "Anything you want."

"Your heart." Youngjae answered, eyes looking straight at Daehyun and the older knew he was telling the truth. 

Daehyun stared for a long time, mouth agape and eyes sad, before his head collapsed onto the couch in front of him, hands balled into fist near Youngjae's legs. A pathetic whimper escaped him as he hid, followed by a soft, "Why are you doing this to me?"

"You know why." Youngjae mocked his words from earlier.

"You want my heart?" Daehyun asked. 

"Yes."

"Do I need to tear it out of my chest or is symbolically good enough?"

"Would you?" Youngjae sounded curious.

"Would I what?" Daehyun whined.

"Tear it out of your chest." His voice was teasing, playful. There was nothing serious in his tone. "If I wanted your physical heart, would you tear it out of your chest for me?"

Daehyun chuckled a little, turning his head to rest on his cheek instead. "Do I get a replacement heart or do I die?"

"You can get a replacement heart." Youngjae said after several seconds of fake deliberation. "Because I'd be sad if you were dead." Somehow, those words meant more than every time the younger had lied and said 'I love you'.

"Then yeah. I'd tear it out of my chest for you." They both giggled for a second or two. "Should I call a doctor, or?" He trailed off.

"No, no." Youngjae answered. "Symbolically is good enough."

"That's it then?" Daehyun asked, voice soft and hopeful. "The only thing you want is my heart? You won't be asking me to buy you anything?" He needed to make sure.

"Yes." Youngjae answered. "I want your heart, nothing else."

Daehyun took one of Youngjae's hands in his, pressing his lips to the other's knuckles gently. "Then it's yours." He said, nuzzling into the younger's palm. "It always has been."

"Okay, I lied. There's something else I want." Youngjae said cutely, and Daehyun let out another pitiful noise, head dropping back onto the couch. He should have known it was just an act. Whatever Youngjae wanted must have been really expensive.

"What is it?" Daehyun held only defeat in his voice, looking as though his head was bowed to the younger with the way it was resting on the couch.

"A kiss." Youngjae answered.

Daehyun's head shot up to glare at him, eyes maybe a bit red, frustration clear on his face. "Why do you keep doing that? Why do you keep playing with my heart?"

"Because it's mine, isn't it?" Youngjae teased. "And I get to play with what's mine, don't I?"

"Yeah, I guess." There came that defeated tone again.

"But even if your heart is mine,  _I_  am  _yours_." Youngjae said next, something content in his eyes. "So, don't you want to play with me?" There was something innocent about his tone, but the meaning was there.

"Fuck you." Daehyun whined, and then he was kissing Youngjae hard and the younger declared victory mentally. He had spent long enough learning how to survive, Youngjae was determined now to learn how to thrive. The older could clearly be manipulated, given how easily Youngjae had just done it, so he expected by the time break came his situation would have changed dramatically. Say goodbye to being hit, monitored, and locked away! 

With a couple shifts of his body, he got Daehyun to climb up from the floor to on top of him, straddling one of his legs as the kiss continued. It was a bit rougher then usual, but for once Youngjae did not mind. It felt good, because it wasn't so rough that it hurt, or that Daehyun was trying to force his tongue down Youngjae's throat. It was just needy, like Youngjae had said all the right words. He had, hadn't he?

"How much do you want to play?" Daehyun asked, eyes dark.

Youngjae seemed to think for a seemed to think for a second before his hand was sliding down Daehyun's chest. Sex was a good positive reinforcer, was it not? And if not sex, this was second best. "This much?" Youngjae asked, hand resting over the front of the older's pants. Daehyun gave him a small nod before sealing their lips again, tangling their tongues and the younger palmed him through his pants until he was hard.

"Youngjae." Daehyun breathed, trying to guide the younger's hand into his pants. Youngjae resisted, wanting Daehyun to be on the begging end for once. "Please." The older murmured against his lips, and Youngjae complied, letting his had slip in to rub over the hard length encased. 

Daehyun groaned, head dropping to Youngjae's shoulder. That morning he had been the one to jack them both off, having Youngjae's fingers on him felt infinitely better. Those fingers pulled away, much to Daehyun's annoyance, only to undo their pants buttons, carefully pulling both their members free between them. Daehyun above him shivered from the cold air as Youngjae's hand wrapped around the two lengths, gentle and unsure because this was still rather new to him. He hadn't even gone through the typical horny teenager stage, until Daehyun he had never really been concerned with it.

Youngjae couldn't deny it anymore. He was letting that gentle heat coursing through his veins guide him. He wanted the feeling like he was on fire. He wanted Daehyun moaning above him, kissing him rougher as he lost himself in the feeling, wanted to reach that beautiful release and then watch as Daehyun reached it too. There was no question in Youngjae's mind, he wanted this. And he had decided to get what he wanted.

The older shifted so he was supporting himself on one arm, chest brushing against Youngjae's as his free hand came down to wrap around Youngjae's. He made the younger quicken his motions, guiding him to put more pressure on and play with the tips whenever his hand reached them, and let go when he was content that the younger could do it properly on his own. He reached up then, while he still had the remainder of his sanity, to grab a wad of tissues from the box on the side table, putting them by Youngjae's head and going back to kissing him.

Inhibitions were quickly lost and suddenly they were caught up in breathless kisses, rough and thorough as Daehyun's mind went nearly blank outside of the prospects of pleasure, and Youngjae let him, sucking on that tongue daring it's way too far into his mouth.

Whimpers and whines were abundant, bouncing off the walls of the large but homely den as they both neared their blissful ends. Right before it got to hitting them, Daehyun grabbed the wad of tissue to catch their releases, so it wouldn't splatter everywhere or get on their clothes. A couple strokes later and Youngjae was coming, keeping moving his hand until Daehyun came too.

Tissues thrown to the table and them tucked back safely into their pants, Daehyun let himself collapse a little, laying with his head on Youngjae's chest and arms around the younger's middle. "I love you." He panted softly.

"Daehyun." Youngjae called, drawing those dark eyes to look up at him. Fingers threaded into the older's hair, calming and praising. "Let's not say those words anymore. Let's save them for when we really, really mean them." He didn't show his worry on his face, his fear that Daehyun would react negatively to them.

"Do you promise you will say them to me one day?" Daehyun asked.

"Yeah." Youngjae kept his eyes glued to the ceiling, praying that would be a promise he broke. "Give me time, and one day I will."

"Then, instead, for now, I guess, my heart is yours." Daehyun said softly.

Youngjae leaned down to kiss his head. "And I am yours." He responded.

 

"Daehyun, stop!" Twenty minutes later, Min, Suzy, Yongguk, and Himchan entered to hear Youngjae whimpering out those words. "Please, please, stop." The younger begged, making the four in the hallway worry.

"May I take your coats." The butler asked, his face a bit twisted with worry, eyes constantly flickering to the den when the weird whimpering noises were coming from, steadily, at increasing volume. "Mr. Jung and Mr. Yoo are in the den to your right." He added as he took their coats, watching as Min, specifically, grew more on edge by the second.

"Please, I'm sorry!" Youngjae whined. "Please, Daehyun stop! It hurts!"

She was off in a second, throwing the door to the room open before Suzy or Himchan could hold her back. There the scene was obvious before them: Daehyun and Youngjae on the couch, Daehyun on top, Youngjae's face red with tears streaming down his cheeks...

Laughing. Laughing hysterically, because Daehyun on top of him was tickling him as he writhed around on the couch. "Stop, please, Dae, it hurts." Youngjae whined between laughing fits. "I can't breathe."

"Do you take it back?" Daehyun teased.

"Yeah." Youngjae breathed, smiling now that the tickling had stopped. "I take it back, you probably only have one stomach, it's just really big." That set Daehyun off tickling him again, Youngjae giggling and writhing around. "Min, help me." He whined.

Daehyun furrowed his eyebrows, looking over his shoulder at the four people now giggling a bit in the doorway. He was distracted a half second too long as Youngjae flipped their positions and started tickling Daehyun instead. "Jae." Daehyun whined between laughs. "Come on, that's not fair." He laughed out, trying to get the tickling hands away but failing miserably as he succumbed to the laughter.

"Having fun?" Himchan asked.

"I'm dying." Daehyun laughed out, clearly not serious. "Help." Suddenly Youngjae stopped tickling him in favor of leaning down to his the underneath of Daehyun's jaw contently. 

He sat up then, moving back on the couch away from Daehyun. "Sorry about that." He said happily to those in the doorway.

Daehyun followed after him, wrapping his arms around the younger's waist. "Ready to watch movies?"

 

The night came and went, ending with Youngjae comfortably asleep, safe in Daehyun's bed without having to sneak in like he did the night before. They had spent the entire six hours they spent watching movies cuddled up on the couch together, giggling and happy while the others eyed them with confusion, or sometimes admiration for Youngjae, such a good actor they could no longer tell he was acting.

Daehyun saw him off before class in the morning, those hours lost to the last minute details as the final exam period rapidly approached. Things felt calm, peaceful. He texted Zelo during the breaks, not feeling the need to erase the messages yet since Daehyun didn't seem to plan on taking is phone. He hadn't the night before, right? Besides, the older had said he was going out for dinner with friends, so he wouldn't even be there where Youngjae got back to the dorm.

At the dorm, he just relaxed in the kitchen, chatting with Sojin, another maid named Euijin, and the cook. "He didn't do anything last night, did he?" Sojin asked. "We all got a bit worried when he ordered no one to enter the room."

"No." Youngjae answered, playing with the phone in his hands as he waited for Zelo to text him back. "I mean  _we_  did stuff, but like I started it."

"Ooo." Euijin teased. 

Sojin giggled. "Learning to get what you want, huh? Want to teach us a few tricks so we can get extra days off?" She asked.

"I don't think my tricks will work for you." Youngjae teased back. "But, I think, as I learn what he likes, I'll definitely be able to get what I want more. He even let me talk to people yesterday."

"Wow, that's such an improvement." Euijin said, and Youngjae rolled his eyes at her. "No, I'm not kidding, he's usually freaky levels of abusive. If he's letting you talk to people, even, it's really great. Maybe you'll get him on a big enough high that he'll stop abusing you entirely and you can break up with him or have a normal relationship."

"He doesn't abuse me." Youngjae responded in confusion.

"Youngjae." Sojin said, her voice full of disbelief, drawling and dripping with annoyance.

"Sweetie." The cook said in a patronizing tone, turning to stare at him.

"You're an idiot." Euijin said. "How can you think he isn't abusing you? This is like a trademark abusive relationship."

"No, it isn't." Youngjae defended.

"Boy, are you drunk on his Kool-Aid." Sojin grumbled to herself. "Did we not have this conversation yesterday? He literally doesn't let you talk to anyone but him and your parents. He goes through your fucking phone!"

"Plus," Euijin continued. "He hits you, like often. So often that you don't even think it's that bad anymore, you're just worried he'll spank or whip you."

"He ruins peoples' lives if they come near you." The cook added. 

Sojin continued then. "He's abusing you, and you need to--"

"Need to what?" Youngjae asked, his voice a little loud. "What? Break up with him? Go back to living in a basement closet and getting sexually assaulted by every passerby just to make other laugh? Because those are my options here. Do you not understand that?"

All three women let out a long sigh. "We're not saying break up with him, we're saying--"

"What  _are_  you saying?" A dark voice came from the doorway. Everyone in the room jumped, looking to see where Daehyun was standing, eyes dark, pose threatening. Youngjae's phone buzzed with a new text message, but Daehyun had grabbed it from his hand before the younger could do anything. "The three of you are fired." He said firmly to the women. "if your still in this dorm tomorrow morning I will see to it you never work again in your lives, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Sir." They mumbled in soft voices.

"Please, Mr. Jung." Sojin said. "Please don't be mad at him, we were provoking him to talk. We've been trying for months now, and he only started talking tod--" She was cut off my a slap across her cheek.

"I don't like when people lie to me." Daehyun told her. "Leave now." He seemed oddly calm as they filed out, angry, but not throwing punches or trying to hurt anyone. "Look me in the eyes, Youngjae." Daehyun ordered, Youngjae squeezing his eyes shut instead. "Look me in the eyes, you piece of shit!" He shouted, sudden, explosive. The anger was so clearly there, burning through him. Eyes glossed over with quickly forming tears, Youngjae met his eyes. "What are the rules? Did you forget?' Youngjae was silent, and so Daehyun hit him over the head. "What are the fucking rules?"

"Don't talk to anyone else. Don't look at anyone else. Don't let anyone touch me. Don't talk back. Don't question you. Do as I'm told." Youngjae listed in a small voice. "Please Ma--" He was slapped across the face.

"How long has this been going on?" Daehyun demanded, voice loud and angry.

"It was just to--" Daehyun cut him off with a punch to the jaw, then pulled him by the hair off his chair.

"Don't lie to me!" He shouted. "How long has this been going on?"

"Since the beginning." Youngjae answered. Daehyun punched the wall, a hole being left by now bleeding knuckles.

He was panting, blood dripping from his fist as he stared down the boy on the floor in front of him. "Who? Which ones of the staff do you talk to?" He asked next.

"Just them." Youngjae answered. "Everyone else refused." He got a harsh kick to his stomach, so hard he needed to take a couple seconds before he could answer again. "Please, Dae--" Another kick to his stomach, knocking him onto his back as he whimpered in pain. "All of them." He admitted softly. "Please, I'm sorry." He whimpered.

"I don't care." Daehyun answered. "What the fuck is this? What the fuck is wrong with you, you stupid fuck? I'm so nice I decide to bail on my friends so you don't have to mope here alone, and what do I fucking find? On your feet." He ordered. Youngjae stood, only to be punched across the face. He was shoved around harshly until his jaw slammed against the table, making him bite his tongue. Daehyun pushed up against his backside. "I'd threaten to take you raw as punishment, but you'd like that wouldn't you, you fucking slut? Were you sleeping with them too? Letting the hop on your dick the moment I was gone because you just love to share yourself with everyone?"

He was picked of the table via a hand tugging on his hair, only to be thrown down painfully. He tried to use his hand to push himself up, only to hear the clinking of Daehyun's belt. He froze. Movement meant extra lashes, meant more pain. The belt was looped around his hands, tying them together behind his back. He could feel rough hands wrap around him, pulling at his own belt. "Please, don't." Youngjae cried out. His pants were pulled down suddenly, underwear included, and fear struck through to his heart. "Daehyun, please don't, I don't want to--"

He was interrupted by the leather belt whipping the exposed flesh harshly. "Count." Daehyun ordered. "Even an idiot like you should be able to manage that, right?"

His heart was pounding. His skin burned with each new lash licking at his flesh. Tears streamed down his face by ten. Words barely made it out by twenty. At thirty, he was legitimately concerned Daehyun would keep at it until he was dead. But it stopped at thirty five, marked by Daehyun pulling Youngjae's pants back over the burning flesh and pushing himself against Youngjae burning backside while the younger cried. "What were you thinking?" Daehyun demanded.

"I wasn't." Youngjae answered.

"Don't speak without permission!" Daehyun shouted, slapping the hurt flesh and eliciting a pained whimper. "How are you so stupid?" He asked next, spanking Youngjae again to elicit another pained whimper. "Answer me!" He shouted. Daehyun didn't give time for Youngjae to answer. "How do I even begin to punish you for this? How do I-- I know."

He grabbed Youngjae by the hair, dragging him towards a part of the dorm Youngjae had not explored before. A door opened to reveal as dark staircase that crying Youngjae was forced to stumble down, practically thrown down the last couple of steps. The basement was dark and dank, unpleasant unlike the rest of the dorm. Youngjae's phone in Daehyun's pocket buzzed again.  _Zelo_. Youngjae had been responding to him after all. "You little shit." Daehyun growled out, smashing the expensive phone on the floor. "Is there anything else I need to know?"

"Please, Master, I'm sorry. I'm only yours." Youngjae cried, scared for his life.

"You're right." Daehyun growled. "You're only mine." Suddenly, he was shouting. "So, why were you talking to other people?" He was breathing hard, his look wild. "I gave you simple fucking rules, Youngjae! How did you manage to fuck this up? Look what you've done! Look what you've made me do! I don't want to do this, it's your fault! Say you're sorry!" He demanded.

"I'm sorry." Youngjae cried. A punch struck him across the face.

 "I don't want to hear it!" Daehyun shouted. "You're nothing! You're worthless, useless, stupid trash! I don't know why I subject myself to tolerating you! And I'm so good to you, this is how you repay me?" His voice went quiet, cold, dark. "No one else would ever want you. No one else would ever tolerate you. You're lucky to have me, Youngjae. Because I am the only one on the planet that could actually stand you. So start acting grateful, start using your fucking head! Tell me you're mine, only mine."

"I'm yours." Youngjae answered, fear carried in his voice. "Only yours."

"Then why the fuck would you do this?" Daehyun shouted, throwing Youngjae into once of the concrete walls. His head cracked against the concrete, vision going a bit blurry and head feeling a bit light. "Promise me it won't ever happen again."

"It won't." Youngjae promised.

"Why not? Show me you've learned something, that you aren't the stupidest fuck on the planet." Daeyun demanded.

"Because I'm nothing." Youngjae replied, voice cracking as tears started pouring heavy from his eyes. "I'm nothing and I'm worthless and I'm stupid. I'm lucky you tolerate me, I shouldn't be taking it for granted. I don't need anyone else but you, so I shouldn't talk to them."

"Whose fault is this?" Daehyun asked.

"Mine." Youngjae answered. "This is my fault, it's all my fault."


	10. Chapter 10

Youngjae needed to calm down, needed to breathe and process his situation. All that he felt was panic-- fast breathes, a pounding heart, hands shaking, and a gross feeling in his stomach. Daehyun had left ten minutes ago, after confirmation that Youngjae understood he deserved the punishment he was getting. He'd be locked in the basement for however long the older felt to be fit and from there he didn't know. Some part of him screamed that the basement was essentially an alternate reality where any inkling of their relationship existing was forgotten. Daehyun didn't care about him here, Daehyun didn't care if he lived or died, if he was suffering or happy; in the basement, he was nothing. That thought on its own was terrifying, but Youngjae had darker demons in his head to shout at him, postulating that if he meant nothing to Daehyun while he was down here, there was no reason why the older  _couldn't_  or  _wouldn't_  just come downstairs and fuck him if he pleased. Clearly, he had no problem hurting Youngjae, so what was stopping him?

That wasn't what had spurred the panic attack overtaking him-- the feeling like he was being choked or having a heart attack, or maybe both at the same time. Because there was an even worse thought that had come to him, if he meant nothing to Daehyun, why would Daehyun protect him? Youngjae's fears of his classmates had grown to an extreme, despite the fact that they had generally left him alone since he had become Daehyun's. It was because the older always told him in soft, gentle whispers that he would protect him, that he was actively protecting him. Youngjae had become blind to his classmates growing fear of him because of his own fear of them.

What was stopping them from coming to hurt him now? Now that he was in the side universe that his brain had declared this basement, there was nothing. He was nothing. He was just some worthless, stupid slut that couldn't even manage to do as he was told. It was amazing Daehyun even wanted him.

Curling up against the wall Daehyun had thrown him against, in on himself into a protective ball, Youngjae accepted it and sobbed. Sometimes it felt better to cry, right? He didn't feel much better. It didn't stop the shortness of breath. He quickly tried and solution he could, anything that usually worked on his panic attacks, but it was fruitless. In a last ditch effort before accepting his fall to oblivion, he rubbed his hands up and down his arms and started humming to himself, unaware that it was the tune Daehyun always hummed to him when he was being comforted or when he felt calm and relaxed. He closed his eyes, burying his face in his knees and imagining Daehyun there with him. Not Daehyun as he had just seen him though, instead the sweet Daehyun that normally surfaced after fights, the way Daehyun had been the day before. Youngjae imagined him wrapping his arms around him, teasing him for crying so much and promising to protect him. He imagined Daehyun humming, kissing his hair and his face, and running his fingers gently over Youngjae's skin as he held him.

Youngjae locked himself in that imaginary world until he felt like he could breathe again, until he thought he could be okay. He kept his face buried in his knees, sliding down to lay on his side in the fetal position and starting what was the next logical step.

Slowly, he started to go over in his mind where it hurt, and if there was anything to do because of it. His face stung, just in general, but he could tell his chin was a little bloodied and he thought he might get a black eye from Daehyun punching him. He had bit his tongue when he was slammed into the table, and he could feel it swelling a bit, which was unpleasant but at least manageable. His head had lost the fuzzy feeling, not quite bad enough that he worried about concussions or whiplash. The next thing was his stomach where he had been kicked, and Youngjae could feel the sting set into place on his skin, knowing it would bruise over later. That was fine, in his mind, a couple bruises wouldn't kill him. 

His ass was another story; it hurt so bad he couldn't really sit on it. Daehyun had never hit him with his belt or even spanked him above ten times before, making sure whatever discomfort he had in sitting could be mistaken as too much rough sex since his charade was still at play. It hurt so much, Youngjae wondered if he'd be able to sit any time in the next month without wincing, and he was a little glad he wasn't looking to check his injuries, because it probably looked ugly already. He felt ugly, he didn't need bruises enforcing it.

 _Nothing. Stupid. Worthless. Ugly. Useless. Pointless._  Over and over those words repeated in his head, like a silent mantra. It was such a simple rule he had to follow! All he had to do was stay silent. Didn't he want to be alone in the first place? Wasn't his goal in letting Daehyun have him that he would be left alone? That he would only have to put up with Daehyun? So why on Earth did he go off breaking a rule that was essentially what he wanted?

Daehyun was just trying to protect him, right? That was what Youngjae told himself as he laid curled up in that ball on the ground. The older knew Youngjae just wanted to be left alone; he was trying to help. It wasn't that he was crazy possessive or jealous or quick to anger. It was that he understood how Youngjae felt about being around others. Youngjae's line of thinking quickly grew so twisted and skewed that he really did place the blame on himself for this happening. It was all his fault, in his mind. It didn't occur to him that it wasn't fair for Daehyun to try to dictate his life.

He was nothing. His family was a family of little nothings that lead nothing lives and tried to insist they were something. His dad was a grocery store clerk, his mom a receptionist at a spa part-time, and he and his brothers were studying on scholarships just praying that one day they could be something. But he, Youngjae especially, was nothing. Nothing special, nothing pretty, nothing wonderful, nothing smart, nothing interesting, nothing, nothing, nothing. He told himself he should be grateful that Daehyun would accept someone so  _nothing_  as him, grateful that Daehyun even pretended to be happy in his presence. It had to be pretend, right? There was no way Daehyun would actually be happy with someone who was nothing. It was a trick. Daehyun just wanted someone who would be compliant, an easy fuck. That's what Youngjae told himself. It was so wrong, so entirely blinded and incorrect, yet in that twisted state of mind the basement had put him in, he believed it.

It was a simple rule. He wasn't smart enough to follow it, to think clearly about his situation. He couldn't even consider what he himself wanted. Never once in Youngjae's life had he doubted he was a genius, not when his peers always fell so far behind him and thought at such slower speeds, but now his confidence in his own intellect was faltering. 

He felt so entirely worthless as he drowned himself in his pool of self-hatred. Why did Daehyun even keep him around? Some part of Youngjae was screaming that none of these things were true, that every person was worth something. Some part of him was screaming it wasn't even his fault and that Daehyun shouldn't have been controlling his life so strictly, but it all fell on deaf ears. Those self-hating thoughts too precedence, took control, possessed him until he could not remember how wrong he and Daehyun's relationship was in the first place.

Daehyun was good looking. With thick lips and cat-like eyes, a mole underneath that had recently caught Youngjae's eye. He had muscles and fashion sense, with tanned skin, dark hair, and dark eyes that Youngjae could not think too long on or his heart would start pounding and his blood would heat up. And then, there was him. Youngjae couldn't see himself as beautiful. His skin was so pale he must have looked sickly, his cheeks were chubby in a way that made his whole face look wrong to him, and his belly was no where near flat. He needed to lose weight, in his own mind, but even then he didn't think it would make him look any less ugly. Youngjae missed how skinny he looked to everyone else, having such a negative body image that he was blinded to how he actually looked. He had always been beautiful, even when he still was a little chubby, but he could not see it, especially not now. He could not see it now that his eyes became fixated on picking himself apart until his pretty face became flawed or red and purple bruises marring his pale flesh caught his eye and became all that he could see.

Youngjae felt like he couldn't do anything, and more so, he couldn't do anything right.  He fucked up everything he tried. Daehyun had given him such a simple rule and he couldn't even manage that! What kind of useless person was he? Youngjae grew certain he would mess up everything he tried, that it might be easier to give up and just let Daehyun do everything for him than to continue on the way he was.

It was all his fault. 

His fault.

_His fault._

Youngjae wasn't sure how long he was down there, other than the he fell asleep curled up on the ground against the wall and that the dorm above him had grown silent when he woke up. 

He was careful as he stood, his head hurting instantly and he had to lean against the wall to help deal with the dizziness. Again, he went over his injuries. His tongue was no longer swollen, and his face no longer stung unless he pressed a finger into it. He tried once to see if it word hurt, then again while he mumbled to himself. "Don't talk to other people." He pressed into the bruise and winced.

"Only talk to Daehyun." He instructed to himself, pressing into the bruise and wincing again. For a fourth time, this time the hardest, he pressed his fingers in. "Daehyun is the only one who is important to me."

His back and side hurt a lot from sleeping on the ground, making it hard to move or straighten up all of the way. Carefully, he stretched until it was just a dull sting instead of the immense pain it had originally been, and then moved on once more. His head ached, his stomach felt empty, and his mouth completely dry. He felt as though he was starving, and given that he had no clue how long he had been down there, he did not know how long it had been since he had last eaten. His ass still hurt, especially when anything came into contact with it. He mused Daehyun must have left it black and blue, but he didn't see what was wrong with that. 

Opening his eyes, he observed the dark basement he was in, a single light bulb meant to illuminate the dark space. The corners held dark shadows and more were cast into long and foreboding shapes across the floor by the objects scattered about. The floor and ceiling were made of plain slabs of concrete, and the walls were much the same except that the concrete had been shaped into large square bricks. There were some pipes running across the ceiling and into corners and small rooms that must contain the various systems that kept the dorm running. The staircase stood in the corner nearby, made of old, splintering wood with only one railing that stood against the wall, the other side free for people to fall off if they weren't careful. The door at the top leaked in a little light and a little warmth, but not much. Various poles were throughout the the basement, used to keep up the rest of the dorm as support beams. The ground was littered with dust and splinters, cold against his socked feet.

Throughout the large open space were boxes and bits of broken furniture, a couple small rooms against the far wall seemed to house closets of more boxes and a run-down bathroom. Near him was a chair with two of it's legs broken off, standing in a bow pointing off away from him. There was an old torn up mattress and a couple more broken chairs, some appliances that had been shattered or smashed, and a couple more that liked fine but probably did not work.

Against one wall was an old sofa, one of the back legs fallen off and the cushion ripped to shreds, but it still stood well enough. Limping over, Youngjae found it wasn't entirely uncomfortable to lay on. He collapsed in on it, laying on his stomach because of how much pain he had in his backside, and closed his eyes. The world was silent, only the occasional sound of the dorm above him settling or of the heat turning on to keep him company. He felt disoriented. There was no way to know what time it was or how long he had been down there. 

His imaginary world came to him again, and he hummed to himself as he imagined how his next interaction with Daehyun would go.  _The older would come downstairs with a bit of a sheepish look, worried Youngjae was mad at him after his extreme over reaction. "Youngjae." He'd call out softly._

_"Over here." Youngjae would answered, feeling calm as Daehyun approached him. "I'm so sorry, Daehyun." He would add on._

_"I am too." Daehyun would answer. "I shouldn't have punished you this much, it's over the top." He would continue on. "You can come upstairs now, if you want to. I get it if you're mad at me though."_

_Youngjae would smile and kiss his cheek. "Of course I'm not, this was my fault. I'm really sorry. I don't know why I did it; I don't want to talk to anyone besides you anyway. I only have you, you are the only one I need. You are the only one I care about." Daehyun would lean in and give him a long, happy kiss, humming under his breath the tune he always hummed._

_"It's okay now." Daehyun would promise. "Let's go upstairs."_

"Youngjae." Youngjae swore he only closed his eyes for a second, but it felt near hours later when Daehyun's cold, harsh voice woke him up.

"Over her." Youngjae answered, waving his hand a bit so Daehyun would be alerted of his position on the couch. He could see the other relax a bit knowing he was still there, as if he was worried Youngjae would have run off. "I'm so sorry, Daehyun." He added softly.

"You should be." Daehyun answered, voice cold. He looked tired, a bit paler than normal. In his arms were a stack of papers and books that he walked over and placed next to Youngjae. "It's only been a day so I figured you weren't hungry yet." Daehyun said, even though they both knew how hungry Youngjae was. "Besides you could use to lose some weight anyway, couldn't you?" Those words were aimed to cut and that was exactly what they did. It hurt to hear. It hurt that Daehyun was reinforcing that Youngjae wasn't good enough.

"Yes." Youngjae answered in a small, hurt voice. "I guess I could."

Daehyun let out a long sigh. He sat on the floor next to Youngjae and looked up at him with some amount of sadness in his eyes. "I feel betrayed, Youngjae." He said, his voice drawling out the words. "I feel hurt. I thought you liked me. I thought I was important to you. So why would you hurt me like this? Do you not care about my feelings? Do you not see how much you've hurt me?"

"It was stupid. I'm stupid. I don't know why I did it. You are important to me, and I'm sorry I hurt you. I'll never talk to anyone but you and my family ever again, I promise." Youngjae replied. "We can fix this, right? You'll forgive me?" He wasn't sure what he was saying. The only thing he was sure of was that he wanted Daehyun to be happy with him again. He wanted to feel protected and safe and he had grown to like Daehyun's affection. Or, at least, he liked it more than being locked in the basement or hit.

Daehyun didn't answer.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Youngjae asked, only to be met with no answer. "Ugly?" Silence. "Important?" Daehyun wasn't even looking at him, staring off to the side as tears built up. "Am I nothing?"

Daehyun didn't answer his questions. "I had our classmates write you notes." Daehyun said instead. "You can't fall behind on your studying. Finals start next week." That was it. That was the answer he got. There was no reassurance, no affection, nothing, just a cold voice telling him he had schoolwork to do. "I told them you fell down the stairs."

"I am very clumsy." Youngjae answered softly.

"We're not pretending this one didn't happen when it's between the two of us, Youngjae." Daehyun's voice cut in sharply. "We aren't using  _my_  cover up of  _your_  stupidity to hide what actually happened here. You need to own up to how you hurt me. I really can't believe you right now."

"I'm sorry." Youngjae answered. "I'm so sorry. Please don't be angry anymore."

Daehyun's next words hurt. Like a knife to his heart, Youngjae felt like a failure. Some part of him screamed out trying to remind him that he didn't actually like the older or want to be in this relationship, but that didn't change that this was his fate. If this was his fate, then he couldn't be such a miserable failure at it. "I'm not angry. I'm just disappointed."

"I'm sorry." Youngjae answered, voice cracking just a bit.

"Sometimes sorry doesn't fix what you did." Daehyun answered. "I had to fire the whole staff because of you. I can barely stand being around you right now and I still brought you notes.  _I'm so good to you._ So why on Earth would you do this to me? Why are you so ungrateful when I'm the only one on this planet that could ever tolerate you?"

"I don't know." Youngjae answered softly. "I don't know, I really don't. You're right.. You're so good to me, and I'm awful. What can I do to fix this?"

"Don't ever break the rules again. If you do, I won't be able to forgive you. I don't imagine our classmates will be inclined to wait once you aren't mine, either. They really hate you for all you've done."

_Follow the rules or Jung Daehyun will ruin your life._

"I promise I won't. Never again, Dae--"

"Only call me 'Master'." Daehyun instructed firmly."While you are down here, whenever you are down here, you have lost the right to be so familiar with me."

"Never again, Master." Youngjae promised softly, his eyes drooping. "I will never break the rules again."

"Who do you belong to?"

"I belong to you."

"Who is at fault here?"

"Me."

"Anything else to say?" Daehyun was standing up to leave.

"I want something." Youngjae answered, peering up at him from the couch. Daehyun froze, a look of confusion crossing his face. His hand twitched like he was debating hitting the younger, but Youngjae did not flinch.

After a couple quiet seconds, Daehyun finally answered. His voice was strained, pained, and carried some shame that he was giving in. "What?"

"Your heart." Youngjae answered.

Daehyun took a long breath in, eyes wide. He was in shock at how bold Youngjae was. "Behave yourself until your punishment is over." Daehyun answered. "And then it'll be all yours." He turned to leave. Maybe he already had it.

 

"Daehyun!" Youngjae shouted, clawing at his neck. He was watching himself from behind, like an observer instead of himself actually.  He couldn't breathe, as if someone's hand was around his throat; he could almost see it, see the hand that closed around his neck. He could almost see it choking him. It was there and at the same time it wasn't-- trying to kill him but simultaneously not.

He had been there for several days now. He hadn't seen Daehyun in what he assumed was three, as the older had told him one of the new maids would bring him his notes and food, and so he had only seen her. She wouldn't look at him, not after the first day. The first day she came down, her eyes trained to Youngjae when he jumped at the sound of footsteps. The noise had startled Youngjae, just like most sudden noises had of late. He could still hear Daehyun yelling at her, telling her she was not allowed to look at him. From what it sounded like, he had convinced them that Youngjae was too fragile to handle interacting with anyone at the moment.

Youngjae had had a lot of panic attacks, constantly reliving that month he had been targeted by his classmates, constantly plagued by nightmares. "Daehyun." He shouted again. Time felt slow as he struggled to breathe. He could hear running upstairs, but each step was too far apart, like a giant running in slow motion. Time was too slow. The room stretched, the corners flattening and sharpening and Youngjae stretched with it. His arms and legs grew too long and his torso grew too short and he continued to claw at his neck because he could not feel his nails against it. He could only feel that hand that was simultaneously there and not around his neck, choking him. Time kept dragging on and it felt like no one would come help him. His breath was short, coming too hard and too fast in a way that made his head feel light. Silence was deafening.

He couldn't feel his heart. He couldn't feel anything, but the most worrying thing was that he could not feel his heart racing. Normally, he could differentiate his panic attacks from heart attacks because of his heart pounding in his ear, but he could not hear it this time. His chest hurt. He thought he was going to die. This was it; this was the end. He was going to die in this basement of what he was starting to grow convinced was a heart attack.

He couldn't feel a thing. Sometimes when he was in a panic he would try to feel his toes, then his legs and up and up, piece by piece he would relax himself until he was able to calm down. But his toes weren't there. His legs weren't there. He had no thighs or fingers, hands or arms. His stomach, his chest, his neck, his head, suddenly they were all gone. He was just a pair of eyes. He had no body. Floating through space, there was him, a pair of eyes and nothing else. He tried to feel his body but he could not. Even the chest pain was gone, he had no chest to feel it in.

He wasn't real. 

Yoo Youngjae was not real, not anymore. His existence had been wiped out of this universe. He did not exist. He did not exist in this room, in the basement. Youngjae was not really there.

There was the distant sound of a door opening and footsteps running down the stairs. It didn't feel like it was only a couple feet away, it felt miles and miles away. Whoever was running towards him would not get to him for a long time. Time was too slow. He was too far away. Youngjae was drifting off, unreal. He couldn't hear well, it all sounded muted.

"Youngjae." Daehyun's commanding voice was distant, as if he wasn't really there.

Daehyun was confused. Youngjae hadn't responded to the first two times had called his name, and hadn't flinched when he had used his commanding voice. The younger was shaking so hard, lying on the concrete ground. His neck was bleeding as he clawed at it. Daehyun reached out and grabbed his hands, but the younger didn't even respond. The maid and butler that had brought him down stood behind with fear. His hands were shaking so hard Daehyun thought it was like he was running on a motor. "Youngjae." He called again, near shouting. "Can you talk? Can you squeeze my hand?"

"I don't have hands." Youngjae answered, voice choked and barely there.

Of course, he did actually have hands. "Youngjae, I'm squeezing your hands. Can you feel it?" Youngjae shook his head.

"What's going on?" The maid asked with fear.

"Shut up." Daehyun answered. "Youngjae, are you real? Do you exist? Are you in this room?" Those questions seemed to be all obviously true. Of course Youngjae was real and in the room. They could all see them. Youngjae shook his head. "Are you upstairs?" Youngjae nodded. "Come pick him up." Daehyun told the butler. "You're strong enough to carry him to my room, right?"

"Yes, Sir." The butler stepped forward, but the moment he touched Youngjae, the student was screaming and thrashing about hysterically.

"Youngjae." Daehyun shouted. "Let him pick you up." He ordered.

"No, no," Youngjae panted out. "No you said--"

"I'm telling you to let him pick you up. If you don't, I'll be angry." Daehyun threatened. Youngjae quieted instantly and he was brought up to Daehyun's room, with Daehyun watching on with worried eyes and the maid carrying the stacks of textbooks and notes that were on the floor.

"What happened? Should we call a doctor?" She asked quietly.

"He was dissociating. It's nothing I can't handle." Daehyun answered. "Just put everything down and then both of you, leave us. Put him on the bed." He waited until they were both gone before he approached the shaking boy on the bed. Youngjae flinched when Daehyun stroked his cheek.

"I'm sorry." Youngjae cried out instantly, as if he thought the soft touch would turn into a sting at any second. "I didn't mean to let him touch me. Please, I'm so sorry. Please don't make me go back down there. Please don't let them get me. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for it to--" Daehyun growled, a hand squeezing Youngjae's side and the younger silenced instantly. His eyes were shut tight with tears pouring out as he swallowed.

"Open your eyes." Daehyun ordered, and Youngjae did. "I told him to do that. I told you to let him. You are not in trouble for following orders." Daehyun promised. Youngjae nodded softly, shifting a little as Daehyun climbed on top of him on the bed. "Where are you now, Youngjae?" Daehyun asked.

"Below you." Youngjae answered softly. "It's stopped mostly. I feel real again."

Daehyun kissed his forehead. "You can lay with your head on my lap." The older told him, pulling off and sitting against the headboard. Youngjae rolled over, cuddling up to Daehyun's legs and resting his head on Daehyun's lap. A hand came down to pet his hair, gentle and holding a slow rhythm to ground Youngjae to some measure of time. Then it came, the humming. Youngjae near melted, his eyes closing again as the remainder of his panic faded again.

As always that tune brought complete relaxation and relief. Youngjae felt safe. He felt like everything would be okay. "Daehyun?" He asked in a quiet voice. The other stopped humming in response. "Please don't make me go back down there." Youngjae begged.

"Are you scared of the basement?" Daehyun asked. Youngjae nodded. "If you follow the rules, you won't have to go down there ever again." He promised.

"I'll follow the rules! Anything you want, I'll do it." Youngjae swore. "Just please don't make me go back down there. Please, I'll do anything you want." Daehyun could hear him getting worked up, and so there was that humming again.

When Youngjae seemed completely calm, Daehyun spoke. His tone was harsh and commanding. "Do not talk to anyone else. I don't care if it's a classmate, one of the help, or your mom. You are not allowed to talk to anyone that is not me. If there is someone else you want to talk to, you have to ask for permission first. Do not use your phone without supervision unless it is to text me. Do not let anyone but me touch you. I don't care if it's a brush of the fingers. I don't care if they're just helping you up. Do not let anyone touch you. You are mine, and if anyone else touches you, you will be soiled. I don't keep soiled things around; I throw them out. Do not look at other people. I am the only one you need to see. Do not talk back to me. Do not question me. If I say to do something, you're doing it. You don't need to know why. What I say, goes. You will do what I tell you to do. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Master." Youngjae answered.

"What are you, Youngjae?" Daehyun asked.

"Stupid."

"What are you?" His hair was pulled a little. He must have been wrong.

"Worthless."

"What are you?" Hands were yanking on his hair, enough to make him yelp.

"Ugly."

"What are you?" Daehyun was growling now, hand sliding to wrap around Youngjae's neck.

"Nothing."

That hand squeezed harshly for a second. "What are you, you useless fucking whore?" Daehyun was losing his patience and Youngjae wasn't entirely sure what would happen if he fucked up again.

"Yours." 

Daehyun's hand left his neck to go back to petting his hair. "Say it again."

"I'm yours." Youngjae repeated.

"Again." Daehyun ordered.

"I'm only yours. I belong to you and you alone."

"That's right. You are mine. You belong to me. I can do whatever I want to you. I could lock you in the basement for looking at someone. I could lock you in this room just because I feel like it. You don't get a choice in this. It's all my choice. I choose to be nice to you, to try to make you happy. I choose to take care of you and keep you safe, but I don't need to. Do you understand that?"

"Yes, Master." Youngjae's voice was quiet, submissive. "Thank you so much."

Daehyun's voice was soft next, maybe a little hurt. "I want you to be happy, Youngjae. I really like you. I don't want this to all be pretend. Do you like me back? Will you be happy?"

"I could be happy." Youngjae answered, ignoring Daehyun's other question.

"But not for sure? And you aren't happy right now?" Daehyun sounded a bit defeated. Youngjae realized this was where his power lied. This was what he could use as his advantage. Daehyun was desperate for Youngjae's confirmation. He rolled so his back was facing Daehyun, moving away when Daehyun tried to touch him. The older let out a broken sound, and Youngjae hit his revelation.

Daehyun wanted him to be happy and in love. He didn't just want compliance, that wasn't enough. Daehyun wanted Youngjae to be head over heels and desperate for his affection. It was suddenly apparent, Youngjae's submission wasn't enough, that's why this was still a full-out war. This was why they were still fighting. It wasn't just Youngjae's resistance, it was that Daehyun wanted Youngjae's heart and Youngjae already had his, in one way or another. "Youngjae, please." Daehyun prompted.

Youngjae didn't answer.

"Do you like me?" Daehyun asked. Youngjae did not answer. "Even just as a friend?" Silence. "Even just a little?" He sounded heart broken, but still there was no response. "Do you hate me?" This one came in a quiet voice, horrified and sad.

There was no answer.

Daehyun was up suddenly and out of the room. Youngjae watched the door he had left from, listening to the sudden pained screaming from outside the room and the sound of a fist smashing against a wall.

"Sir is everything--" Probably a maid, Youngjae guessed.

"Leave me alone!" Daehyun shouted back at her.

This was it.

He could win.


	11. Chapter 11

The music was already playing downstairs and Youngjae could hear Daehyun going around yelling at the staff to make sure everything was alright. Daehyun hadn't told him until that morning, but he had been planning this after-finals party since the beginning of the semester. Youngjae had given him the cold shoulder all day for not telling him sooner, watching as the older grew more distressed and upset as the day went on and Youngjae continued to ignore him. Finals hadn't been hard, in the end Youngjae thought he had studied harder than he really needed to and while he hadn't got any grades back yet, he was nearly certain he had gotten perfect scores on all of them. During the week he had carefully planned his actions around Daehyun, being overly affectionate and clingy like how Daehyun liked when the older was being good to him and going cold when he yelled or did anything else Youngjae didn't like.

He could hear the footsteps coming upstairs but he didn't bother looking up from his phone, where he was playing another one of those puzzle games. They didn't take long for him to finish, even if they had hundreds of levels, but it felt good to relax and play them instead of focusing on anything else. There was a knock on his door, but he didn't respond to it just in case it was a staff member. Everyone knew to just knock and then come in, anyway. Daehyun looking a bit angry when he entered, or maybe it was frustration, but regardless his facial expression sent Youngjae on red alert, even if it softened when Daehyun saw he was just playing games again. 

"How are you feeling?" Daehyun asked him, sitting on Youngjae's desk chair rather than on the bed, probably to avoid the hurt feeling he'd get when Youngjae brushed him off again. It was simple omission training, really, the removal of Youngjae's affection because Daehyun hadn't told him this was happening, despite knowing how much Youngjae feared the people coming over.

Youngjae didn't answer, taking a tiny bit of pleasure in the frustrated noise Daehyun let out in response.

The older student stood up, going to Youngjae's dresser and picking out clothes for him. "Wear that tonight." Daehyun ordered, and Youngjae wouldn't dare disobey. Even if he was fighting back now, he had to do so little by little, not all at once. "The rules are a bit different for tonight too." Daehyun said next, and Youngjae put down his phone to look up at the other. "I don't care tonight, okay? Talk to whoever you want, touch whoever you want, do whatever you want. Just remember that you're mine, and that if you take it too far you'll see the consequences." He took a deep breath. "After all, there's no reason you have to go home for break, as disappointed as your parents might be, maybe staying in the basement for the entirety of it will be better for your mental state."

"I don't want to talk to anyone else." Youngjae answered softly, trying to contain the panic rising in his throat from Daehyun's thinly-veiled threat.

"Too bad." Daehyun answered. "It'll be rude to ignore our guests. I don't care if you just hang on Min or Yongguk all night; if you don't hang out with anyone else, if you just cling to me or hide in the corner, you'll be in trouble. I don't need you going and giving me a bad reputation by being antisocial and difficult. Maybe I can tolerate your ungrateful attitude, but no one else will be able to."

"Please don't make me." Youngjae begged. He didn't want to be near his classmates. He was scared of them. "Please, I don't even want to be near them."

Daehyun let out a long sigh, taking a seat next to Youngjae and wrapping his arm around him, humming the tune softly until he could feel Youngjae completely calmed down in his arms. "If you don't go, things will only get worse." Daehyun mumbled to him. "It won't be that bad, I promise."

"What if I panic?" Youngjae asked. "What if I dissociate again?"

"If you feel like you aren't going to make it then you can come find me." Daehyun answered. "But only once. I don't want you coming with some new problem every twenty minutes. Okay?"

Youngjae nodded against Daehyun's shoulder.

"Good, then give me a kiss and I'll leave you alone." Daehyun told him, figuring Youngjae was still mad at him.

"What if I don't want you to leave me alone?" Youngjae asked. Daehyun smiled. He decided that it was good that Daehyun was giving him more freedom, even if it was in a way he didn't want, so he should reward him somehow, right?

"Then don't stop kissing me." Daehyun answered, smile only getting wider when Youngjae climbed into his lap and started kissing him. He wouldn't let the other up for air, even, and when Daehyun finally managed to pull him off his lips, Youngjae sealed his onto Daehyun's neck, sucking hickeys into the tanned skin. It was on the third or fourth hickey that Daehyun tried to stop him. "What are you doing?" He asked.

"You don't want to share me with anyone." Youngjae answered. "I don't want to share you either. So I'm making sure everyone knows you're mine." Youngjae actually didn't care beyond not wanting to be alone and knowing that the moment he stopped clinging to Daehyun would be the moment he left, but some part of him wanted to dare those words into existence. It was always 'I'm yours', Youngjae wanted to know what would happen if it was the other way around.  Maybe Daehyun would hit him for claiming ownership.

Maybe not.

Daehyun had flipped them over so he was on top of Youngjae in an instant, kissing him near-violently, just as he always did when he wasn't controlling himself. "Say it again." Daehyun ordered, his hands running fast over Youngjae's skin.

"You're mine." Youngjae asserted, moaning when Daehyun started rubbing him through his pants in response, lips running over Youngjae's neck and then up to nibble on his earlobe. He couldn't find a good reason why Daehyun was so excited by those words, nor why his shirt was being nearly torn off and cold hands were running over his skin.

He had no clue what claiming ownership meant in Daehyun's mind. He had know idea that Daehyun had such a twisted view of love that the desire to own, possess, and control was the best definition the older could come up with. "Anything you want, it's yours." Daehyun told him.

"I want you." Youngjae answered. "Kiss me." Daehyun had never reacted well to an order like that before, but suddenly his lips were pressed firm and eager against Youngjae's and the younger, for once, was controlling the kiss. He was deciding how it went. His hands ran over Daehyun's skin breaking the kiss to pull Daehyun's shirt off. "Mine." Youngjae mumbled, because he liked the response he was getting, as he ran his fingers over Daehyun's skin.

But suddenly the older was kissing down his skin, determined as his hand started rubbing rougher on the front of Youngjae's pants. By the time his lips reached Youngjae's chest and didn't stop, the younger could guess what was happening. "Daehyun, stop." Youngjae requested, his voice going weak. "I'm not ready for—"

"You don't have to do anything back until you're ready." Daehyun answered, lips brushing against Youngjae's skin as he spoke, "But let me make you feel good. I promise, it'll feel so good." Youngjae didn't say anything and Daehyun took that silence as a yes, trailing his lips down further and further. It wasn't like he was pushing him to go all the way, Daehyun didn't see how he could be against being on the receiving end of a blow job.

Above him, Youngjae let out a loud, breathy moan, fingers gripping into Daehyun's hair. "Oh my god, oh my god." He whined.

Daehyun pulled off for just a second to give a smirk. "Don't worry, I'm right here." Then, he had Youngjae crying out again.

 

There were already a large number of people downstairs when Youngjae finally forced himself out of his room, dressed in the clothes Daehyun had picked out for him. It was just a beanie and some simple clothes, but something about that screamed that it was Daehyun's style, and clearly him wearing it in this combination had been the older's doing. Youngjae was still partial to his big sweaters, especially considering how cold it was out lately, but more often than not Daehyun would come pick out his clothes and Youngjae would get hit if he didn't wear them. He didn't mind so much, it wasn't like Daehyun was forcing him to wear things that he wouldn't wear otherwise. He had spent a long while trying to smear enough BB cream on his face that the bruises Daehyun had left behind would be covered, but he couldn't manage it quite as well as Daehyun did. Youngjae didn't even question why he pressed his fingers into the bruise with every pass, he just did.

A couple heads turned when he came down the stairs, probably because they weren't fully expecting him to come down and join them. Youngjae's heart was pounding so hard at the sight of all those people that he gripped onto the railing of the stairs tightly and stopped, trying to take a couple breaths to calm himself down. "Let me help you, princess." Youngjae near jumped at the sound of someone else's voice near him, before reminding himself that Daehyun said it was alright to talk to other people that night. He looked over to the boy that must have run up the steps to him, holding a hand out and smiling innocently. He was afraid the other just planned on making him trip down the stairs. "Can't have you go falling again, can we? Daehyun looked devastated enough the first time." Youngjae kind of doubted those words, knowing how well Daehyun acted and how firm he was set on making sure no one knew he actually liked Youngjae.

"Thanks." Youngjae mumbled, taking the student's hand but keeping his other firm on the railing, just in case. It felt wrong, gross, to have someone else's hands on his skin. He didn't want this person touching him, even if he truly was just helping Youngjae down the stairs since everyone thought Youngjae had fallen down them not too long ago. Maybe it was just because this student was a stranger, or because of what his classmates had done to him months ago, but it felt  _disgusting_  to have his skin against anyone else's. Already he wanted to hunt down Daehyun and beg to stay with him for the rest of the night.

"Guess what, he can actually speak!" The student teased, calling down to his friends near the staircase, who laughed. It wasn't meant to be cruel, and surely no one else would have taken it as such, but Youngjae though they were trying to make fun of him, his face burning red in embarrassment. "So you're feeling better then?" He asked Youngjae pleasantly. "We were all worried when we heard you fell."

"I'm fine." Youngjae answered, his voice saying soft such that it was hard to hear over the loud music. "It wasn't that bad of a fall, I guess. I've always been clumsy like that."

"My last girlfriend was like that." The boy said. "Always falling and dropping her stuff everywhere, but I thought it was cute." They had already reached the bottom of the stairs, but the student was still talking to him. "She always tries to help other people up though, since she knows how disorienting it can be when you fall. I think she even helped you up once."

"Oh!" Youngjae's face turned a bit red. "What was her name again? Was it Jieun?" He asked. Suddenly he could guess why the student was talking to him.

"Yeah, Lee Jieun." The student answered. "It's really a shame we broke up, she was the girl of my dreams. I can't even remember why I ended it anymore." He let out a long sigh, as if he was sad.

Youngjae pulled out his phone, quickly typing a message to Daehyun, and then shooting a smile at the student. "You should try to get back together with her then." He informed. Maybe they'd all hate him less if he got them what he wanted. His phone buzzed.  _You'll have to pay me back for that later._  Daehyun had told him. Youngjae took a deep breath. 

"You think so?" The student asked. "It hasn't been that long, maybe I can win her back."

"I'm sure you can." Youngjae answered, feeling the air a bit easier in his lungs in seeing the way the other student was smiling at him, especially when his own phone audibly buzzed in his pocket. "Go for it." Youngjae told him. "Good luck."

He turned to leave, but felt a hand on his shoulder that made him freeze. "Wait." The student said, his voice dropping low so as to not be overheard. "Thank you, really."

Youngjae just took another deep breath, his voice dropping low too. "It's the least I can do."

"Did you know?" The student asked. Youngjae shook his head. "I thought you had asked him to."

"I've never asked him to do anything to anyone." Youngjae answered. The student took a deep breath and nodded before stepping back, letting Youngjae go. "Good luck getting her back." He cheered. 

"Thanks! See you later." The student answered, before going to whisper quietly to his friends. Youngjae hoped he hadn't just started something by telling him it was all Daehyun, but at the same time, he didn't want to be seen as responsible for this. It was not his fault Daehyun was so possessive and controlling and awful. He texted Daehyun back promising him he'd pay him back and asking what the older wanted, praying it wasn't anything too awful. He might have just sold his soul to make his classmates like him, but maybe if they did then he wouldn't need Daehyun to protect anymore.

"Youngjae!" A voice cheered, a small girl with a sweet smile attaching to his arm. "It's been so long, how are you?" She asked.

They were walking through the crowds together then, and Youngjae could already guess she wanted something. Maybe they wouldn't like him when he didn't have the ability to get them what they wanted. "I'm good, how are you?" Youngjae answered. He had seen everyone put on this act long enough to know how to play along. It was all about keeping up face.

They chatted for a little while before he realized he was talking to Lee Jieun, who was now on a small rant about how she missed her boyfriend who had broken up with her not too long ago. "I thought I heard he was looking for you." Youngjae told her calmly.

"Really? I'd think he'd never want to talk to me again." Jieun replied, a small glare on her face.

Youngjae just pulled out his phone, as if checking to see if he had a new text message from Daehyun. He was sure there wasn't, but he wanted her to be able to read it since he wasn't sure he knew how to phrase what he had done while still speaking in this highly coded way that all the students did. He didn't make it overly obvious to her he wanted to read, but he could tell from the way that her glare turned to a smile that she had. "I mean, I'd just wait and hope." Youngjae said.

"Yeah, maybe he'll come around." Jieun answered with a smile. "Oh, I think I see him." She smiled. "What do I do?"

"Get in his line of sight and look cute?" Youngjae suggested. Jieun laughed, patting him on the shoulder and going. It felt wrong. It felt disgusting. She touched his shoulder and it disgusted him. He wanted to cry and find Daehyun because that non-malicious touch made him nauseous. 

After a deep breath, he continued on, just wandering through the party and avoiding people as best as he could. He was hoping to spot Daehyun, just to see if he looked angry or anything, but before he could locate him, there was a hand grasping his shoulder and a drink finding its way into his hands. "You look like you could use it." Yongguk told him. "You look stressed."

"Just worried about grades and all." Youngjae lied, knowing by convention he couldn't admit what was bothering him.

"I'm sure you did fine." Yongguk answered. "My father has a lot of motivation to keep you in the school anyway, so if you're a couple points short, I'm sure he'll fix it right up." He smiled.

"Your dad? Motivation?" Youngjae asked.

"The principal of the school." Yongguk answered. "And not only is your IQ everything he's ever wanted in an alumni, now Daehyun's father is determined to keep you in the school too. His grades have magically gone from D's to C's now that he has you."

"But Daehyun's a gen—" Youngjae was cut off.

"He's just bad at everything, isn't he?" Yongguk cut in, giving Youngjae a firm look telling him not to break the code. "Except psychology, did he tell you about his grades in psychology in high school? Perfect scores in everything. It's like he found his calling."

Youngjae was able to figure it out pretty fast. Daehyun purposely got the grades he did, to an exact degree. He could get perfect scores in anything, Youngjae knew that just from talking to him. "I'm sure when he starts taking business classes next semester he'll find his calling there too." Youngjae answered. "It's a good thing, I guess, his father can hide his poor scores by putting him in the one job that he will without a doubt succeed in." Daehyun was assuring he'd beat his sisters out for CEO.

"His sisters are both good at math." Yongguk said, "So that's good at least. One's much better than the other with science and technology, but I guess that's life." Youngjae was astounded at how well it was planned out.

"It's good they all have their strengths." Youngjae said, happy with how convincing he was managing to be.

Yongguk's phone went off, and after shooting a quick reply to whoever was texting him, Youngjae's went off at well. It was one of those anonymous mass text messages, saying Jieun and her boyfriend were back together. "Your doing?" Yongguk asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Youngjae answered. "It's good they're back together though, when I talked to Jieun earlier she seemed absolutely torn up about it."

"Really it's a wonder they broke up in the first place." Yongguk told him. Youngjae realized he thought it was he who had orchestrated it from the start.

"It really is." He answered. "I didn't even know until tonight when she told me. They always looked so cute and happy together that I never would have imagined they'd break up."

Yongguk nodded a bit. "Really, they're cute. Like you and Daehyun." There was something a bit teasing in his tone.

"Or you and Himchan?" Youngjae shot back.

"Yeah." Yongguk answered, but then his voice got quiet. "Then again, I think Himchan and I were a bit more like those two then you and Daehyun. We had planned it out beforehand rather than relying on spontaneity."

"You liked him, then?" Youngjae asked.

"More than he liked me." Yongguk answered. "Speaking of which, that drink was supposed to be for him. I'll have to go get another and hunt him down, although I can already guess he'll be with Suzy. She and Min both seem to be in sour moods."

With that, Yongguk left, and with a long sigh, Youngjae went to go find Min. He didn't want to talk to her. He didn't want to be here. It hadn't even been a half hour yet though, so he needed to tough it out a little longer. There was no way he could go back in that basement, especially for the entire month long break. He looked towards the kitchen briefly but even the thought of going in there made him nervous. Youngjae didn't go into the kitchen anymore, not since Daehyun had taken him out of the basement. If Min was in there, she'd have to tough whatever it was out by herself.

He found her about a half hour later, after a couple short conversations with people that just seemed to want to get on his good side. The more people saw him interacting with his classmates without doing anything to them, the more they seemed to want to talk to him, especially as he heard the whisper spread,  _it was all Daehyun, Youngjae didn't even know it was happening_. He heard those whispers over and over as he walked by, once even hearing the remark back, "If that's what he did to us, who he needs on his side, then imagine what he did to Youngjae each time." That whisper was quickly shushed. People seemed more relaxed in his presence, more nervous when he'd bring up Daehyun.

Min was on one of the couches, relaxing and talking to a couple people who fled a little while before Youngjae had finished his conversation and was able to approach her. "Hey," She called when he sat down, moving to hang on him a bit. She seemed a bit drunk, now clinging to his arm as she smiled up at him. "It's so good to see you all social again."

"I'm a bit out of practice, sadly." Youngjae answered.

"You know, it's so crowded and stuffy in here, let's go walk outside for a bit." He wondered what was so urgent that she needed him away from everyone, but nodded and followed her out. He grabbed his coat from the butler on the way, and she hers, and then they were out and on the snow lined path around the dorm, carefully avoiding those around them. "I heard your name got cleared." She told him once they were far enough away from the other roving packs of students. The cold was biting, but Youngjae had missed being outside.

"It's a wonder what happens when I'm social." Youngjae answered.

"We don't need to speak like them." Min laughed. "Come on, there's no one around to hear us. I'm tired of all these rich people's shit." She was clearly a bit drunk, but she seemed happy so it didn't matter. She was still hanging on Youngjae's arm, using it to keep her walking straight and steady. "So it was really Daehyun the whole time?" She asked.

"I didn't even know he was doing it." Youngjae replied. "I'm still not sure I actually know what happened all the way, only that people are suddenly very interested on getting on my good side, and sometimes they ask me to reverse things."

"He was ruining the lives of anyone who touched you or talked at you. I think he caught some third year staring at your ass and made him fail physics because of it." Min told him. "It was mostly little things, you know, the kind you couldn't trace back to him. He's too good at this game." Min's voice went quiet then, sad, even. "I'm tired of playing it."

"What do you mean?" Youngjae asked.

"You're lucky," Min told him. "Being isolated is so much easier. I mean, Daehyun really likes you and he's so sweet to you, so even if he's keeping everyone else away, at least there's that. With Suzy, I'm always acting, always helping her control things. And then when we get back to our dorm, instead of getting to be myself again, she just forces me to sit around and be compliant. The moment I say what I think, we're having a fight." Min whined.

"I'm sorry," Youngjae answered.

"It's always something with her, too." Min continued. "She always has something I've done wrong and all she ever does is yell. And then, when I'm mad at her she just gets more angry at me and tells me I'm ungrateful."

"What are you going to do?" Youngjae asked.

"I don't know." Min answered. "I miss being home with my family, but if I even thought to bring up dropping out she'd just start yelling again. It's like she doesn't get that I'm a person too. You know?"

"Yeah, I know." Youngjae answered. "There's got to be something to do, right?"

"I don't know." Min answered again. "And like, when we were leaving for the party, she spent a whole hour fussing over her outfit and she was mad at me because I thought she didn't need to be so concerned. Like, it's a pair of shoes, if it's two shades off from your dress, no one is going to notice. And then I'm dressed thinking I'm fine. Like, it's cold out so of course I want to wear like a sweater and pants, right? And she comes in and throws an out fit on my bed and tells me I have to wear it so we match. I don't want to wear this! It's too cold for a skirt and there's too much snow for these heels, I can barely walk in them."

"I get you on that one." Youngjae told her. "Daehyun more or less did the same thing to me. It was wear this or deal with him being angry." He sighed. "But like, it's just a little thing, right? Just clothes."

"Yeah but still, it's so frustrating!" She whined. "And the other day she threw like a three hour fit at me for saying I wanted to dye my hair pink. Like, look, my hair is still black! It's not like I dyed it without asking her first! She could have said she didn't like it, but no, she has to have like a three hour meltdown about how if I dye my hair pink, it'll distract everyone from looking at her ass."

"She said that?" Youngjae asked.

"No." Min answered curtly. "But I bet that's what she was thinking. Like, she has the nerve to make me change out of comfy clothes that I like just because she wants us to match at this stupid fucking party, but she throws a literal fit at me whenever I suggest that maybe she should dress a little less slutty? What the actual fuck is wrong with her?"

"You could try talking to her about it." Youngjae suggested.

"Would you just let me whine?" Min asked. "There isn't a solution to this, okay? Like, besides us breaking up forever, there's no way to fix it. She's going to keep it up forever."

"Do you want to break up with her?" Youngjae asked. "I thought you liked her."

"I did before I realized how much a colossal bitch she was going to be." Min answered. "Not everyone can have a spontaneously perfect relationship like you and Daehyun. Like, if Suzy was half as dedicated to my happiness and comfort as Daehyun was to yours, I'd be living a dream life right now. You're so lucky, Youngjae. I wish I had someone who treated me as well as he treated you, keeping everyone away just because he knew being around them upset you and always being so nice and affectionate towards you. I'm jealous."

Youngjae took a deep breath. Did he just misunderstand his own relationship? Or did Min not know what she was talking about? "So, are you going to break up with her?"

"I don't know that I can." Min said. "She might not let me. I don't know, I think, like, it would be way easier if I was with someone like me, you know? Like, all of these rich people just think so different from us and they act so different and their priorities are so weird and mixed up." She whined. "Promise me something, Youngjae." She sounded drunk still, and so Youngjae wasn't sure he wanted to know what she wanted him to promise. They were out of sight of anyone else now, having left the party pretty far behind.

"What?" He asked.

"If we ever end up free of them at the same time, promise you'll claim me." Min told him.

"What?" Youngjae asked. "Why?"

"Because if you don't then all of these rich people will come after us hoping for sloppy seconds. They'll think we're easy and so they'll all come kissing our necks and trying to get with us, but they can't do that if we're together. So, if we're ever free of them, we can protect each other and keep ourselves away from this rich people bullshit."

Youngjae nodded softly. "Then yeah, I promise."

Min smiled, pleased. "Although, I doubt you and Daehyun will ever end it. You're so perfect together."

"Thanks." Youngjae mumbled. "I'm kind of chilly, let's head back to the party." Min nodded and they went walking back towards the dorm, the pounding music slowly filling the silence between them.

They broke apart soon enough, Min off to find Suzy and Youngjae just wandering about as the atmosphere in the dorm had turned a lot more friendly towards him, he still didn't like talking to the others, and he felt like he might puke whenever they tried to touch him, but at least everyone was being friendlier. Most had even realized Youngjae wasn't okay with them touching him and had stopped that completely. No more handshakes or pats on the shoulder or girls clinging to his arm. Suddenly, even if it was awful, it was easy.

Designer hears clicked on the floor nearby and suddenly he had the face of some random pretty girl filling his vision. "Hey, Youngjae." She told him happily, standing too close to him. Her perfume burned at his nose and he was desperate to get away from there. "I don't think we've talked before, I'm Choi Hayoung."

"Hi. It's nice to meet you." Youngjae answered.

"I hate to cut to the chase, but I'm a bit in the rush." She informed him suddenly she was too close to him and Youngjae was trying to melt into the wall to get away. "I need you to get Daehyun to do something for me. I'll pay you back for it." Suddenly her hand was on his pants and she was rubbing a bit and Youngjae was near ready to have a panic attack. "Think you can help me?"

"No." Youngjae replied quickly, trying to remove her hand. "I can't. Please stop touching me."

She just used her other hand. "Are you sure? I can make it worth your while. Any way you want it," she winked. Youngjae wanted to puke.

"Stop it. I can't help you." He repeated helplessly, doing his best to stay in reality. Some part of him was desperately trying to pull away so he wouldn't have to deal with this. 

"Oh my gosh, Hayoung, I haven't seen you in so long!" A girl's voice called suddenly, and then Lee Jieun was pulling her away from him, despite her protests, and towards the kitchen. Her boyfriend appeared next to him giving him a concerned look.

"Some people are so oblivious." He rolled his eyes. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Youngjae nodded. He wasn't. "Thanks."

"Consider it pay back for earlier." The other answered. "Though, now I'm curious. Never asking for anything to happen to anyone, is that going to change now?" He seemed curious more than anything else.

"Probably." Youngjae mumbled.

"That's understandable. You know, I think I saw Daehyun in the living room. I'm sure he wants to see you since you've been apart all night." The statement was casual, a return to the code everyone spoke in.

Youngjae hummed in agreement. "I do want to go find him." He answered. "I miss him, as stupid as that is."

The other student nodded and left then, and Youngjae quickly went for the living room, near diving to attach himself to Daehyun when he saw him. His head still felt a bit space-y. Daehyun had been talking to a couple people, who didn't even seem to bat an eyelash at Youngjae's presence. When it was clear they intended to keep talking to Daehyun regardless of his presence, he spoke up. "Do you mind if I steal Daehyun away for a bit?" He asked sweetly. They all laughed and said it was fine, quickly finishing the conversation and letting the two head off. Daehyun dragged him to rest against the wall, starting to kiss behind Youngjae's ear as he waited for the younger to explain himself.

Youngjae grabbed his hand and lead it to rest over the front of his pants. "Someone else touched me like this." He admitted softly.

"So?" Came Daehyun's response.

"She didn't stop when I told her to." Youngjae continued, pulling his hand away, but not surprised when Daehyun kept his resting where it was. He was making it look like Youngjae was just there because he was horny. "I told her not to from the start, but she wouldn't stop until someone dragged her away."

Daehyun hummed in his ear, leaving a soft kiss on his temple. "Give me her name and how bad you want me to make it."

"She said it was Choi Hayoung." Youngjae answered. "I don't care how bad you make it so long as she's far away from me." He could feel Daehyun smile against his skin, moving up to kiss his lips in a long, slow kiss.

"Who helped you?" Daehyun asked next.

"Lee Jieun and her boyfriend." Youngjae answered, a bit impressed at how hard Daehyun was making it look like they were going at it.

"Should I reward them?" Daehyun asked.

"You let them get back together, didn't you?" Youngjae answered. He didn't want to pull so many strings. He just wanted the people that wouldn't take no for an answer far away from him.

"Mm, that's right, baby." Daehyun said loud enough for the people around them to hear. "If you really need me that badly, I can take you upstairs." He added.

Youngjae faked a soft moan and nodded. "Please." He whined softly. He needed to get away before he got too spaced out. Everything was starting to seem so far away. He could feel Daehyun smirking against his skin, and then he was being lead upstairs with the other's hand firmly on his ass. It was all a show.

They moment the door to Daehyun's room was safely closed and locked, Youngjae was near sobbing into his shoulder, because suddenly the relief was there and it felt so, so good. Getting out of that situation, away from all of those people, it made him feel so much better so quickly that he couldn't help but cry. Daehyun's arms were around him in a second, warm and gentle. "Hey there, space cadet." Daehyun teased. "No crying now, I'll handle it."

"Are you mad?" Youngjae asked, voice quiet and filled with worry. He was clinging to the back of Daehyun's shirt, sniveling a bit as he tried to calm down.

"Of course not." Daehyun answered. "You did what you could without hurting my reputation." He gave Youngjae another soft kiss on the temple. "Although, it seems setting you loose on the party started off quite an odd rumor. People are under the impression that you never asked me to do what I've done to the classmates that bother you. They seem to think I did it on my own. Did you tell someone that?"

Well, he had, but Youngjae wasn't sure if telling the truth was about to get him in trouble or not. His whole body tensed. He reminded himself that lying would probably only make it worse. "I didn't say those exact words, but I might have implied it." Youngjae answered softly. "Is that okay?"

"Everyone's really scared of me now." Daehyun answered. "Quick to report when they see you doing anything with anyone, ready to avoid you the moment I say the word. I got updates on where you were and who you were with all night." He seemed pleased with himself. "You did so good, baby." He mumbled. Youngjae's relaxed state was short lived. "Now you can't get away from me even if you wanted to."

"I would never want to do that." Youngjae lied, voice quiet.

Daehyun laughed a little. "But we're talking in the hypothetical here, Youngjae. Even if for some crazy, misguided reason you were to want to get away from me, our classmates would surely do everything they could to get you back to me, because I'm the scary one now. Now they're afraid they'll do something that bothers me, and it won't matter if you say it's fine or not. We won't have another incident like the one with the staff, now, will we? Not when they're scared of what I'll do if I find out," Daehyun's words sent chills down his spine. There was no escape.

"It wouldn't happen anyway." He lied. "I hate all of them. I don't want anything to do with them. I just want to be with you." Daehyun kissed his hair sweetly, running his fingers up and down Youngjae's back. He was humming then, that same tune, and even if it was quieted by the music downstairs, it still made Youngjae melt in his arms.

"Say what you said this afternoon." Daehyun ordered softly.

"You're mine." Youngjae replied without hesitation, giving Daehyun a soft squeeze. Suddenly, Daehyun was kissing him, soft and gentle and eager. After a couple seconds he pulled away to hum again, kissing over Youngjae's face. "I'm yours." Youngjae added experimentally— more kisses. He was left breathless. "Lay down on the bed and cuddle with me." Youngjae ordered, experimentally.

"Is that an order?" Daehyun answered. "Try again."

"Please, I want to cuddle with you." Youngjae tried. "I missed you all day, just for a little while, please?"

"You want to cuddle with who?" Daehyun teased.

"I want to cuddle with you, Master." Youngjae breathed out. He just really, really didn't want to be alone. Daehyun hummed, pulling him towards them bed and climbing on after him. Warm arms surrounded him again and Youngjae snuggled into Daehyun shoulder. For a while it was just quiet and calm, Daehyun humming softly like he always did when Youngjae was feeling calm.

But after a little while Youngjae got distracted. The muscles of Daehyun's arms were bulging through his shirt a bit and the look of it brought that heat that it always did. Slowly, gently, like he was worried he'd get in trouble for it, he reached over and traced his fingers over Daehyun's biceps, pushing in gently when Daehyun seemed unperturbed. The older chuckled a bit, removing that arm from being around Youngjae and flexing. When Daehyun kept it up, Youngjae reached up to feel over the hard muscle, trying to force down how hot he was feeling. "You like it?" Daehyun teased.

Youngjae just nodded a bit, trying to hide his embarrassment. It was embarrassing to him that he found Daehyun attractive.

That arm was dropped around him again and Youngjae was being squeezed so tight it was like Daehyun was trying to snap him in half. But something about it felt good, and Youngjae let out a pleased little gasp. Daehyun squeezed him again and Youngjae leaned up to start kissing his neck, leaving a couple hickeys in his wake. But then Daehyun's question made him freeze. "If my arms get bigger, will you like me more?" He asked.

Youngjae didn't answer, just continuing on kissing Daehyun's neck. He couldn't give Daehyun any hope.

"If I just get completely ripped, then will you like me?" Daehyun continued. Youngjae didn't answer. "If I buy you everything under the sun?" No answer. "If I get rid of every single person that so much as stands too close to you?" Silence. "If I got better grades?" Youngjae stopped kissing Daehyun's neck. "If I never went out with friends?" Daehyun seemed desperate.

"They're probably missing you downstairs." Youngjae replied.

"What will make you like me?" Daehyun demanded. "Is there anything?"

"I don't like boys who hit me or yell at me or lock me in basements." Youngjae answered.

"If I don't do any of those ever again, will you like me?" Daehyun asked. Youngjae kissed him, sweet and gentle. "I'll be the model boyfriend." Daehyun promised. "Just promise you'll like me."

"You don't like it when I lie." Youngjae answered. "I promise I'll like you more than I do now." He couldn't stop hating Daehyun, but he could hate him less.

Daehyun swallowed, seeming to accept it as he pulled away from Youngjae. "They'll probably wonder where I am soon." Daehyun mumbled, sounding dejected. "I should go back down to the party. Make sure Hayoung gets what's coming to her and all." He gave Youngjae a soft peck on the lips, and then he was up and gone.

Youngjae buried himself under the covers and closed his eyes, relaxing just the littlest bit when he heard the door lock. Ten minutes later an anonymous text message went out, with just the name Choi Hayoung.

Youngjae's phone buzzed with a message from Min. He didn't open it, just reading it on the front screen and then pretending he didn't see it so Daehyun couldn't be upset. Min was asking what he did, telling him what a text containing only Hayoung's name meant. She was the new target, just like Youngjae had been during that first month. It wasn't just going to be Daehyun after her, it was everyone. Youngjae took a deep breath. What had he done?


	12. Chapter 12

Youngjae woke up to his hands pinned on either side of his head and lips rough against his, only growing rougher when their owner realized he was awake. The music of the party had long since stopped, and predictably the noise of the party guests had faded away as well. Youngjae's ears were ringing loudly and a grogginess held him in a small state of panic and confusion, struggling with fear against whoever held him down. His mind had quick flashback, an unwelcome hand on his crotch, lips where he wasn't ready for them to be, and on. The hands grew tighter on his wrists and sudden flashbacks of a leather belt against his backside had him fighting even more.

Those lips left his and before Youngjae could call out for help, there was humming. It was Daehyun, sealing his lips onto Youngjae's neck, sucking roughly at the skin there as he hummed. Youngjae couldn't fight the relaxed feeling, losing his will to fight as his entire body relaxed. The humming stopped and there was a sharp pain in his neck, like Daehyun had bit him. Youngjae whimpered.

"Daehyun." He could smell the alcohol on Daehyun's breath and taste it in the lingering aftertaste of the other's tongue in his mouth. Teeth bit into his neck again. "Daehyun please stop." Youngjae whined, whimpering when the response was a nip at his earlobe. "Daehyun." Another harsh nip. "Master, please." Youngjae begged, the teeth left his skin, instead Daehyun's forehead was resting against his, the other's stare full of warning and anger. "What's going on?" Youngjae whispered, trying to his the fear in his voice. Daehyun heard it.

"You're mine." Daehyun asserted. "You're mine and I get to do whatever I want to you." As if to prove his point, Daehyun smashed his lips against Youngjae's again, forcing him into a violent and painful kiss that left Youngjae dizzy and afraid. Daehyun above him was shaking. His hands gripped tighter at Youngjae's wrists as if he was trying to snap the bones. 

"Master, you're hurting me." Youngjae struggled. The situation was not looking very good.

"What if I want to hurt you?" Daehyun asked, baring his teeth a little. Youngjae let out a whimpering noise when the grip on his wrists only got tighter. The noise seemed to drag Daehyun out of whatever state he was in. "You won't like me if I hurt you, will you?" Daehyun asked.

"No." Youngjae answered.

Daehyun raised a hand as if to hit him and Youngjae flinched, bracing for an impact that never came. The hand slammed into the mattress by his head. A loud noise of frustration escaped him. Youngjae jumped and shut his eyes tightly for a second. "Why are you doing this? Why are you refusing me?" Daehyun demanded. Youngjae didn't know how to answer. "Answer me! Stop it! Stop refusing to answer when you don't like my question!"

"Please calm down." Youngjae begged. The room was so dark he could barely see the outline of Daehyun's face. "You're scaring me."

"Don't tell me to calm down!" Daehyun shouted, slamming his hands down on either side of Youngjae's head again. He flinched, curling in on himself and letting out a low whimpering sound. "What gives you the right to say if you'll like me or not, Youngjae? You're mine! I get to decide what you like!" His wrists were pinned down again and he struggled to get away. "Why are you fighting me?"

"You're hurting me." Youngjae whimpered.

"So?" Daehyun shouted. "After all I've done for you today, you're complaining?" He was still shaking. "I can't do this, I can't." Daehyun mumbled next, under his breath and heartbroken. "I can't take this anymore, Youngjae. Tell me you love me." He ordered.

"Dae--" Daehyun cut him off with a frustrated scream and his hands slamming against the mattress again. "Mas--" A frustrated growl, another hit. Youngjae's heart was pounding; his breath was coming quick.

"Say it!" He demanded.

"I love you." Youngjae lied, soft and sweet. Daehyun's grip on his wrists loosened just the slightest bit. "Please, I love you so much. I belong to you and I love you. You're the only one I care about. You're the only one who's important to me." It was mildly comforting to watch as Daehyun seemed to relax above him. "Daehyun, I want something." Youngjae tried.

"What?" Daehyun's voice was exasperated, still holding some of that anger that Youngjae was trying to escape.

"I want you to kiss me." Alcohol flavored lips were on his in a second. The kiss was rough but not violent like it had been before. After a couple seconds, Daehyun was letting go of his wrists in favor of letting his hands go sliding down the younger's sides, squeezing his hips for a second before sliding back to grope his ass. As much as Youngjae disliked it, he didn't object. He played with Daehyun's hair gently instead. The kiss slowed down as time went on, until Daehyun wasn't really kissing or touching him anymore, just hovering above him. Small hiccups interrupted the silence and Youngjae managed to pull him down to rest his head on his chest.

"Sing me a lullaby." Daehyun demanded, or really it was more of a whine. Youngjae took a deep breath, singing softly until Daehyun was snoring on his chest. Another deep breath and Youngjae was humming to himself, trying to bring his pounding heart rate down to a normal level.

The room swirled a bit around him and nothing felt quite real. The green numbers of the digital clock read it was near six in the morning, but Youngjae paid no mind to that. He was scared to fall asleep with Daehyun gripping onto him. He was scared of what the older might do to him while he was unconscious. Still, time ticked on and as it passed his eyelids grew to be heavy. At the first break of light, Youngjae finally managed to fall into a fitful sleep.

When Youngjae woke up, Daehyun was still snoring on his chest, hands balled up in the sides of Youngjae's shirt and legs entwined with Youngjae's. All the fear from a couple hours ago was still there, but the events seemed far away and unreal.

The green digits on the clock told him it was just before noon, but the day was still quiet and peaceful. Youngjae threaded his fingers through Daehyun's hair, letting his other arm wrap around the older's shoulders. It was maybe a half hour before Daehyun shifted, letting out a loud, whining yawn and trying to snuggle further into Youngjae. "Mine." He mumbled softly, although Youngjae was not sure if he was really awake or not.

He kissed the top of his head gently, murmuring, "yours," just in case. Daehyun let out a contented hum and they laid there in silence as those green digits went up and up.

"Babe, do you know what happened last night?" Daehyun asked, still sounding like he was half-asleep. "After everyone left I can't remember anything." Youngjae tried not to make his relaxation to apparent, but it was better if Daehyun didn't remember his fit from the night before.

"You came up here and kissed me, and then fell asleep." Youngjae answered.

Daehyun nodded. He went silent for a couple seconds before he was shifting off Youngjae's chest and up the bed, laying next to him but not touching anymore. Youngjae shifted on his side so they were facing each other, and for a while it was just silent staring. Daehyun's hand swept over his cheek gently and he shut his eyes for the duration of the time they were touching. "We're going home today." Daehyun mumbled after he had retracted his hand. "I almost don't want to if it means leaving your side."

"It's not that long of a break." Youngjae promised, "and I'll call and text you often."

Daehyun took a deep breath. "About that, I did you how many favors last night? Like nine? Then you owe me nine favors. The first of which is: I want you to call me every night. If I don't answer then I'll call you back when I can, but I expect a phone call every night."

"I can do that." Youngjae answered. "And the other eight?"

Daehyun hummed, thinking about it for a while. "Whenever you have friends over or go to meet them, I want you to text me first— just so I know where you are and who you're with. Also, if someone texts you, text me first for permission before you answer. Okay?"

Neither of those were okay, Youngjae knew it. He could see so clearly how possessive and controlling the first three of Daehyun's requests were, trying to keep the massive control he had over him even when they were apart. He didn't have a choice. He had promised Daehyun these favors every time he had done a favor for a classmate. He had already consented to them. "I probably would have done that anyway." Youngjae lied.

"I know." Daehyun seemed not to believe him, but his voice stayed soft as if what he was requesting was innocent and well-intentioned. "I'm just worried, you know. So that's three then." He hummed. "I'm going to give you money, alright? So, for the fourth one, I don't want you working over break. That's too many people to talk to, it'll be too much stress for you."  _It'll be too much autonomy and Daehyun couldn't let him have that, could he?_  "Another thing, I want you to text me if you're feeling nervous or scared. I'll call you as soon as I can."

That was five. Youngjae didn't understand Daehyun's aim for the last one, it sounded more like a favor to him than anything else. "I can do that." He answered.

Daehyun smiled. "I know you can, I'm just making sure." It was nearly sickening how much Daehyun was passing this all off as sweet. "I'd like it if you just tried to text me every hour or so in general. I might not be able to answer, but I think it'll be good for me to know where you are and and what you're doing. I mean, I'm sure you don't come from the nicest neighborhood, and you don't exactly look like you belong anymore. What if something awful happens to you? In line with that, if I text you, I need a response immediately, okay? Keep your phone with you at all times and if I'm texting or calling, you  _have to_ answer. Got it?"

"Yeah," Youngjae nodded. "That's seven then." Daehyun nodded brushing his fingers through Youngjae's hair for a couple seconds before leaving a soft kiss on his forehead. It was silent for a couple seconds and then Daehyun spoke again.

"This next one may seem dumb, since I'm positive you aren't stupid enough to do it anyway. I mean, only a complete idiot would, after all. But, I need you to promise me you won't go telling anyone about what happens at this school outside of learning, alright? Nothing about claiming, about the class structure, bribery, anything. You have to keep it to yourself. Even most of the details of our relationship, promise me you won't tell anyone else."

"I promise." Youngjae answered. Daehyun kissed him, lips gentle and slow so that Youngjae found it rather pleasant.

When Daehyun pulled away, he bit his lips for just a second, like he was debating the last one. "I want to meet Zelo, whoever he is." Daehyun asserted. "He texts you a lot and so I want to meet him. If I say not to hang out with him after I've met him, you can't, okay?"

"But—" The look Daehyun gave him made Youngjae relent immediately. "Okay." He mumbled.

"I'm only doing this to make sure you don't get hurt over break, okay, baby? You're not very good at reading people. You thought those nasty staff members were trying to be your friends instead of trying to ruin your life, and you probably thought our classmates last night were trying to make friends with you when they were just using you." Daehyun cooed. "He texts you so often that I worry he has bad intentions, so I want to meet him to make sure he won't hurt you. You understand, don't you?" Youngjae nodded and Daehyun gave him another sweet kiss. "See? Payment isn't that bad, is it?" Daehyun told him.

"No. It's not bad at all." Youngjae answered. There was a pause and then he continued, "You didn't go overboard with the presents for my family, right? They might feel bad to offer you so little if you give them a lot."

Daehyun laughed a little. "I think I went overboard, but mostly on my gifts for you. Hm, but maybe, if they think it's too much and you think it's too much, you'll let me visit you and stay with you again towards the end of break?" Daehyun asked. "My sisters go back to school two weeks before us, so maybe I'll come visit you then, if you'll let me."

"I mean, it should be—" Youngjae wanted to say no but he felt like he had no right to. If Daehyun had truly bought them all a lot, and his parents heard of his request, they would probably insist, even.

"Don't make up your mind yet." Daehyun instructed, cutting Youngjae's sentence off. "Wait and see how you feel after Christmas. If you think it's too much, then I'll come visit again to make us equal. If it's not, then I'll stay home. My parents won't really mind either way; they like you even if they don't know you, so they'll want me to spend more time with you."

"They like me because of your grades, right?" Youngjae asked. He wanted to know if Daehyun would confirm what Yongguk had told him at the party, if he'd deny it, or if he'd hit him for even asking.

"Yeah." Daehyun answered. "Being around you made me more intelligent, so they like you." Youngjae couldn't help but snort at that, overtaken by giggles that Daehyun quickly caught. "Honestly, it's impressive how oblivious they are, I know. But, it works to my gain, so we're going to keep it that way, okay? No telling anyone that my grades are on purpose." He kissed Youngjae's cheek, "so smart, figuring it all out."

"It wasn't that hard. You're too smart for the grades you're getting." There was another pause, but Youngjae felt relaxed because Daehyun didn't seem upset with him. "You'll be starting business classes next semester, right? Will I have to worry about you tying me for top of the class? I'll lose my scholarship if we're always equal."

"Who says I won't get better scores than you?" Daehyun teased.

"Well, you can't get better than perfect so..." Youngjae trailed off.

"You're so full of yourself." Daehyun teased, tickling at his side for a couple seconds in teasing punishment. After a couple seconds, when Youngjae started whining instead of laughing, he stopped. "I'll make sure I'm always one percentage point off from perfect." Daehyun promised. "I'll pick a question on the final and get it wrong, just for you."

"Thank you." Youngjae said teasingly, kissing his cheek. Daehyun chuckled a bit and gripped onto Youngjae's cheeks, pulling him in for another sweet, slow kiss. This time he didn't pull off, keeping Youngjae where he was and letting the kiss drag on until Youngjae started to feel dizzy. Daehyun pulled away then, rolling them over so he was straddling one of his legs and pinning his hands on either side of his head.

It reminded Youngjae of the night before, and Daehyun seemed to sense the sudden fear burning in Youngjae. He nuzzled into his neck and hummed that tune until Youngjae was motionless and relaxed below him, dropping a single peck on his neck before he brought their lips together again.

It wasn't like those kisses from the night before. It was slow and soft, long but pleasant. Youngjae's hands may have been pinned, but he did not mind giving Daehyun that kind of control when he was being gentle and sweet. Daehyun's hips rolled up against his. Youngjae didn't stop him. Those pillowy lips pulled away to trail kisses from the corner of Youngjae's lips to behind his ear. Something about the kisses there made him feel hot. "I want to touch you." Daehyun mumbled against his skin, as if looking for permission without asking for it.

"Please." Youngjae answered. Daehyun shifted around so Youngjae's hands were pinned by one of his, the other now going trailing down his body as he kissed Youngjae again. He whined softly when those fingers only skirted around where he wanted them. "Please, Daehyun." He whined when the lightly teasing touches grew to be too much.

Daehyun met his eye and there was something nervous about the look of him. "Promise you'll do anything I tell you to." He instructed, voice soft.

"I promise." Youngjae answered.

"Fall in love with me." Daehyun ordered.

"I can't just fall—"

"You just promised!" Daehyun answered. He was frustrated. His hand was squeezing Youngjae's wrist and the other was digging indents into his thigh, but he didn't seem aware of it. "You promised to do everything I tell you to!" He was shaking again, just like the night before. "I understand that it takes time, but you have to. You promised." He sounded like a young child being told 'no' for the first time.

"If you treat me well, then I will." Youngjae lied.

"I already treat you well." Daehyun answered. "I'm so good to you. So, you'll fall in love with me soon, right?" His grip was loosening a bit and the hand on his thigh was rubbing gently over the marks it had made.

"I will." Youngjae lied. That hand on his thigh trailed up, dipping into his boxers to stroke at Youngjae's cock. Youngjae let out a pleased gasp and let his head fall back.

"Don't move your hands or I'll tie them down." Daehyun ordered, and then he was pulling his hand away to lift Youngjae's shirt. His lips sealed on to Youngjae's stomach as he stroked him. Slow and gentle movement elicited moans and gasps that filled the otherwise silent morning, interrupted only by the buzzing of Youngjae's phone.

Daehyun picked his head up, still stroking Youngjae as he answered. "Hello?" He asked. "He's a bit busy right now, who is this? Oh, so you're Zelo." Daehyun gave Youngjae a look. "Yeah, he has once or twice. You're like his little brother or something, right?"

Whatever Zelo's answer was, Daehyun wasn't pleased with it. He started stroking Youngjae harder and quicker. Youngjae bit his hand to stop any moans from escaping him. "Stop that." Daehyun told him. Then he was back to talking on the phone. "Me? I'm his boyfriend." Daehyun answered. A small smile broke out on his face at how Zelo responded to that. "Was there a point to this call? We were a bit busy." Silence and then, "Probably around four. It depends on when we manage to leave, but I promised his mother we'd be there for dinner."

Daehyun hung up then, not even saying goodbye as he turned his attention to Youngjae. "I told you not to move your hands." Daehyun said. He stopped touching Youngjae then, however briefly it took for him to get his belt off since he hadn't changed out of his clothes from the night before. Pinning Youngjae again, he brought his hands together and tied them with the belt.

"Daehyun." Youngjae whined, pulling at his hands where they were now trapped.

"Hush, baby." Daehyun answered. "I'll still make you feel good." His lips were back on Youngjae's stomach then, his hand still stroking Youngjae's cock until Youngjae was crying out below him and coming between them. The cum splattered over his stomach and shirt, making a uncomfortable, sticky mess. Daehyun didn't let him go then, instead pulling himself out and jacking off until he came all over Youngjae as well. "There, now you look even prettier than normal."

 

The car ride to Seoul wasn't that long, in the backseat of a sleek black car with blacked out windows and a divider blocking their view of the driver. Daehyun had pulled Youngjae to rest under his arm, head on his shoulder as he near fell asleep. Daehyun's head rested on top of his, his fingers trailing up and down Youngjae's arm as they went on. Youngjae's hair was still somewhat wet from showering, but Daehyun didn't seem to mind the dampness. "You went on a walk with Min last night." He remarked as the car started rolling and campus started to pass them by.

"Yeah." Youngjae answered, but he could tell Daehyun wanted more information than that. "She wanted to talk about what was going on with her and Suzy."

"I only heard Suzy's side." Daehyun answered. "What did Min say?"

"She said she was tired of fighting all the time, and of having to do everything Suzy said." Youngjae answered.

"Then Suzy's right that Min doesn't understand how things work around here. Unless a couple is match perfectly by power, standing, and wealth of their families, one has control and the other follows. Not everyone actually follows that rule, but that's how it's supposed to work."

"What do you mean?" Youngjae asked.

"Well, I have power, social standing, and money, don't I? Meanwhile, you come from nothing. So, I get to control you, same with them. Yoseob has more money than Jieun, plus he's old money and she's new money, so he gets to control her. I know he doesn't actually use that control that often, but when he wants to, he can and does. Who else do you actually know? Oh, Yongguk and Himchan."

"Shouldn't they be equal?" Youngjae asked. "I mean, I don't know what Himchan has, but if Yongguk is the son of the principal, he should be near you, right?"

"He might have been." Daehyun answered. "But Yongguk is the youngest of three. The oldest Bang gave up most of her inheritance though, I think she's only getting 10%. Even then, he'd be equal to Himchan with his remaining half, but Himchan wouldn't take him unless he was significantly poorer."

"Why?" Youngjae asked.

"Because he wants power." Daehyun answered. "When you're at the top, why would you take someone that could challenge you? So, Yongguk gave most of his inheritance to their middle sibling, and now Himchan gets to control him."

"That doesn't seem fair." Youngjae remarked.

"Yongguk knew what he was doing when he gave it away and when he asked Himchan to claim him. If it had been for anyone but for a Kim, or maybe if it had been for me, his father probably would have disowned him for such a stupid move." Daehyun answered.

"Wait, but you're one of three too." Youngjae said. "Shouldn't you have less?"

"My sisters are only half-sisters, and honestly my father is rather sexist, so they're getting a lot less than I am. Just enough to make them desirable, but then again our family is enough for that. He could leave them broke and they'd still find someone." Daehyun scrunched his nose for a second, something Youngjae had learned meant he was doing math in his head. "Even if we were splitting it equally, no one would come anywhere close to me."

"So that's Suzy's side then?" Youngjae asked.

"Yeah." Daehyun answered. "That's how things work, and Min isn't just  _lower_  upper class or something. She's working class, like you. At that point, with that kind of disparity, Suzy can do whatever she wants and none of us can really object. I don't see how Min is misunderstanding this."

"We weren't raised with this kind of system." Youngjae answered. "That's not how things work in our world; it's more of an everyone-works-together kind of thing. When my Dad married my Mom, she had no money and no job, but he had some money saved and the same job he has now. When they got married, he didn't get control over her. They were equal, and they stayed that way. Because that's what we're used to, you're way of doing things is hard to understand."

Daehyun shrugged. "She needs to adjust then. I mean, it's not like it's going to change just because she doesn't like it."

"She might just drop out instead, or break up with Suzy." Youngjae admitted.

"She can't do that." Daehyun answered. "Do you know the kind of Hell that would demote Suzy to?" He seemed a bit outraged. "You have to convince her not to pull anything dumb like that." He demanded.

"I'll try." Youngjae answered.

Daehyun seemed to relax next to him. "At least you understand, right? That's why we're always pretending in public, because you're the lowest of the low and I'm at the top. If people think I claimed you because I like you, instead of for the complete and unperturbed control, then they won't fear me. If they don't fear me, they won't do what I tell them to anymore, and then I'll lose my control."

"Didn't you claim me for the control?" Youngjae asked. With Daehyun trying to manage every aspect of his life, he was fairly convinced that was the whole reason. 

Daehyun face softened and he turned his head to leave a long kiss on Youngjae's hair. His voice came out soft and sweet. "Of course not. I claimed you because I like you."

Youngjae rolled his eyes, thankful Daehyun could not see given their position. "You don't need to pretend. If you've claimed me for the control then be upfront about it." He said. At least, then, he wouldn't mind as much. It would be clear to him  _why_  Daehyun had claimed him and why he was so possessive. "I won't be angry about it. I won't even mind." He added. "I might even consider it reasonable." Just given how Daehyun said the system worked, it was logical, even if Youngjae disliked his situation greatly.

"I claimed you because I like you." Daehyun asserted, pulling his head off Youngjae's and using his free hand to force Youngjae to look at him. "Everything I do is because I like you. How could you even think that when I don't assert my control unless we're in public?"

At first, Youngjae thought Daehyun must have been joking, given all the rules and other such counter evidence to Daehyun's claims of not controlling him. But the look in Daehyun's eyes made Youngjae think the older was entirely clueless, as if he didn't realize that things like picking out Youngjae's clothes for him counted as trying to control him. Youngjae didn't know how to respond then to Daehyun. How could he be so oblivious to his own actions? "I don't know." Youngjae lied. "You're just really convincing when we're around people."

Daehyun seemed to accept that, smiling and pecking his lips. "Don't doubt how much I like you for a second." Daehyun told him. "I might even love you."

Youngjae felt sick.

"But anyway," Daehyun continued as if it was nothing, letting Youngjae rest his head on his shoulder and resting his head on top, "Suzy isn't even asking for that much control. Min needs to be more realistic."

"I'm sure she'll get used to it." Youngjae answered.

"She better. Although, at least if she leaves Suzy can cover it up. If she breaks up with her, all hell will break loose."

They went silent for a couple seconds, lost in their own thoughts. "Daehyun, what happened to Hayoung?"

"Last night?" Daehyun seemed to think a bit. "My memory is a little fuzzy, it was around then that I started getting a little too drunk. But, before that, I texted Yongguk her name. That made her the new target, and so everyone was going after her. I think I felt a little bad once she started crying, so I told her I'd let her leave the party freely. If she didn't go, though, she'd face the consequences, and if she did, I wouldn't help her once she was out of our dorm."

"What did she do?"

"Beg." Daehyun answered. "She said she didn't mean it, that she hadn't realized what she was doing was wrong. She promised she'd never do it again, then when that didn't sway me she promised she'd suck me off whenever I wanted from then until forever if I'd undo it."

"And you?"

"I told her you had paid me too well to take that offer, but then I added that I wouldn't even if you hadn't asked me to because you're mine and she should have known better than to touch you." Daehyun pecked his forehead sweetly. "See? Now they're afraid of the both of us. She tried begging the others then, saying she was their friend and they shouldn't turn on her. Of course, everyone says that, I don't know why she thought it would work. Honestly, most of us didn't like her anyway, she's too upfront for someone of her status. These lower wealth, new money kids really don't know what they're doing."

"So what happened?" Youngjae asked.

"She ran out." Daehyun answered. "If she managed to get her driver to come pick her up and take her off campus that night, she'll probably be fine until after break. If she's smart, she would drop out now and save herself the hassle. But even if she doesn't, she'll be far away from you."

"Thank you." Youngjae mumbled. It went silent again, before Youngjae's nervous question boiled up. "What will happen to her if she doesn't drop out?"

"Do you remember your first month at school?" Daehyun asked. Youngjae nodded. "Make that worse. More bruises, more pain, and more real. She won't just be humiliated and she won't have someone hiding in this distance, ready to jump in if someone tried to make things too real like Zico did for you. Since I'll be against her instead of trying to help, she's going to be in a lot of pain."

"But you won't do anything to her, right?" Youngjae asked.

"Why wouldn't I?" Daehyun answered.

Youngjae didn't think he could stand Daehyun in the slightest if he did anything near what their classmates had done to him. "Because I don't want to share you." Youngjae lied. "You're mine."

He could feel Daehyun smile into his hair. "Then I won't touch her. I never liked getting my hands dirty with it anyway."

Youngjae wrapped his arms around Daehyun's shoulders then, turning his body toward him and burying his face in his neck. Daehyun kissed his hair again, moving so his arms were wrapped around Youngjae's middle instead.

Daehyun hummed his tune for a little while before he spoke up. "Don't worry about going back, either, no one will try to talk to you or touch you. They won't even look at you anymore." Daehyun promised. Youngjae wasn't sure if he was scared or relieved by the isolation. "I think, while you're home, you could probably manage to see your friends, so long as you tell me first."

"Thank you." Youngjae answered, nuzzling further into Daehyun's neck.

From Daehyun's pocket, Youngjae's phone started buzzing. "You're coming home and suddenly they can't get enough of you." Daehyun teased, looking to see who was calling before he handed it to Youngjae. 

"Hello?" Youngjae answered, pulling away from the hug but staying under one of Daehyun's arms. 

"It's Jaehyun." His brother answered. 

"Oh, hey, yeah, what's up?"

"Mom and Dad are fighting over money." Jaehyun answered. "Dad thinks we won't have enough to make it the full month if there are six mouths to feed tonight." His brother didn't flat out say what he meant, but the meaning was there.

"You're saying we won't be able to afford food for the whole month?" He asked. His brother confirmed. "Oh, look, my boyfriend is staring at me in horror. Oh, he's taking out his wallet." Youngjae lied, taking out his own wallet and pulling out the wad of cash Daehyun had given him. "So much money suddenly in my hands. Whatever will we do with it." Beside him, Daehyun snorted.

"I like your boyfriend already." Jaehyun told him. "Are you sure he doesn't mind giving you money?"

"I think he has more money than he knows what to do with." Youngjae answered, looking up and sticking his tongue out at Daehyun, who dive-bombed a quick kiss. "Go tell them I have a lot of money from tutoring or something."

"Have you been tutoring again?" Jaehyun asked.

"Not really." Youngjae answered. "But they don't need to know that. Is Jiyoon there yet?" Daehyun gave him a look so he whispered, "his girlfriend."

"She's taking her last final right now." His brother answered. "She'll probably beat you here though. Zelo said when he called you, you said around four? He also whined that he didn't like your boyfriend, but that's predictable."

"How often has he been over to see if I'm home yet?" Youngjae asked.

"He's only come over once, but he sent Jongup over at least four times now."

"And Jongup comes in, looks in my room, and leaves without talking to anyone?" Youngjae asked teasingly, laughing when his brother said it was true. "I swear, he knows it's weird, he just likes making you and Mom laugh about it." He went silent for a couple seconds before adding. "But yeah, just tell them I have enough on me that we don't need to worry. Tell them they can take off from work too, for once Christmas break means an actual break."

"Tell your boyfriend I love him." Jaehyun teased and then the line went dead.

"Do I need to give you more money?" Daehyun asked as Youngjae handed his phone back. "I didn't realize it was that bad."

"You gave me enough money to last my parents a full year." He answered, pecking Daehyun's jaw. 

"Okay." Daehyun didn't believe him. "I barely gave you anything though. If you need more, just text me, okay?"

Youngjae kissed him then, long and sweet. "It'll be fine." He promised. "You don't mind giving me money, right?" He added, nuzzling into Daehyun's neck again, dropping a couple light kisses on the warm skin. He was so used to Daehyun giving him things at this point it hadn't even occurred to him to ask until his brother brought it up.

"Of course not." Daehyun answered. 

"You're the best." Youngjae told him, giving him a long, slow kiss. They spent what was left of the car ride like that, cuddled up together and kissing. Youngjae thought it would be easier than continuing a conversation and risking Daehyun getting mad at him. They had covered all of his bruises and hickeys with make up, he didn't need a new one forming that he'd have to hide as well.

When the car stopped, neither was expecting it. Youngjae near went sliding off the seat, only managing not to because of Daehyun's firm grip on him. Daehyun reached forward to pull the divider between them and the driver open, asking, "are we there?"

"Yes, Sir, we're here." The driver answered.

"Alright, unload our suitcases then. We'll worry about getting all of the gifts inside later." Daehyun told him, before closing the divider and giving Youngjae another long kiss. 

Opening the car door, the light outside was bright, reflecting of the pale cement sidewalks to burn at their pupils. Youngjae found his apartment building embarrassing now, with ivy climbing up it's cracked, faded brick walls. Every window had bars on it and there was nothing elegant to be found unlike where they were coming from. Youngjae felt weird. He felt weird being home and weirder having Daehyun there with him. It was like finding himself in a world he didn't belong in anymore. He almost expected Zelo and Jongup to run out and tackle him like they used to when he was younger.

"It's cute." Daehyun said, clearly trying not to be rude. "Quaint."

"You don't have to stay with us if you don't want to." Youngjae answered. He tried to swallow the apprehension building up in his throat. This was not his world any longer but he was dying for it to be.

A dog barked nearby by, loud and somewhat threatening. "Youngjae!" Mr. Lee, the landlord, called out, waving as he approached. "I was wondering when you'd be getting back. And who's this?" Daehyun seemed to be going for the dog, still loudly barking and bearing it's teeth. "I wouldn't do that. He doesn't like strangers much." Daehyun rolled his eyes and let out a low whistle, letting the dog sniff his hand and then petting it with no problem.

"Hey, Mr. Lee. This is my friend, Daehyun." Youngjae answered, relaxing a bit when Daehyun didn't try to correct him. "He's just visiting for the day."

"Any friend of yours is fine by me." Mr. Lee answered. "Tell you mother I say hi, then. I always seem to come by when she's at work."

"Waitressing hours, you know." Youngjae answered. Mr. Lee nodded, tugging his dog away from Daehyun and continuing on down the sidewalk.

"Friend?" Daehyun hissed, squeezing Youngjae's shoulder roughly.

"He's crazy homophobic." Youngjae answered, his face turning red. "He kicked our neighbors out for having a son he thought  _looked_  gay, and this is the only place my parents can afford to live."

Daehyun raised his eyebrows but accepted it. "Well, lead the way then." He motioned the the apartment, and with a gulp, Youngjae lead him into the building. The inside was arguably worse, with tight hallways and cracked plaster walls. The winding stair case they went up was some ugly, dirty shade of blue and the windowless space was illuminated only by yellow lights. Their footsteps echoed as they went up the stairs, filling the entire building with their sound. "How far up is it?" Daehyun asked when Youngjae didn't stop on the second floor.

"We're on the fourth floor." Youngjae answered.

"Shouldn't we take the elevator then?" Daehyun asked.

"There isn't an elevator." Youngjae answered. "Just be glad I don't live on the tenth floor or something."

Finally, they reached the fourth floor, Daehyun grabbing onto Youngjae as they walked down the hallway. At the end was a door numbered 406, with three locks and the paint on the door peeling off. Youngjae tried the door first, but it was locked. He looked at Daehyun for a quick second, took a deep breath, and knocked. From the other side of the door there was excited yelling.


	13. Chapter 13

Daehyun's presence wasn't as disagreeable when it was on his couch in his living room, surrounded by chatter that told Youngjae that Daehyun could do nothing to him. His mother had gotten back from her work at the salon and said she had canceled her hours at the restaurant waitressing for the night. Youngjae's father would be getting home soon enough and already Jiyoon and Jaehyun were occupying their attention with weird stories about things that had happened at their university. Daehyun was chatting with them pleasantly, ever the actor as he managed to woo everyone in Youngjae's family with so little effort on his part.

"So how'd you meet my baby brother, then?" Jaehyun asked when a lull came up in the conversation, nearly assaulting Youngjae with a hug as he did, despite his younger brother's protests.

"Would you stop hugging me every two seconds?" Youngjae snapped.

"When did you get so whiny and snappy?" Jaehyun retorted. "I bet you're just worried I'm going to embarrass you in front of your boyfriend, aren't you? What kind of big brother would I be if I didn't?"

Daehyun squeezed Youngjae's hand gently and that was the only reason the younger didn't start yelling at his brother again, instead Daehyun took the next reply in the conversation as he pulled Youngjae a bit closer to rest against him. "It was really by chance. I mean, everyone knew he was coming, of course. All of us try to help the scholarship students out since the work is so tough, but normally they quit anyway. But, so, he was in my first period class and our class president was supposed to be his buddy and show him around and all, but she was completely swamped with it being the beginning of the year. So, I volunteered to lead him around and help him out for the first week."

Youngjae wasn't sure where Daehyun had pulled out that story from, but it was better than 'yeah, on the first day I decided he was mine and that he would either do everything I say and pretend to be in love with me or I would make his life a living hell. You'll never guess which one he picked because the answer is actually both, technically.' "That's cute." Jiyoon said. "And then you became friends and this got started?"

"And then he tutored me in math, actually." Daehyun laughed. "I liked him from the start, but I don't think he liked me until my grades started getting better."

"It's not like I disliked you." Youngjae lied. Daehyun kissed his cheek.

"Of course you didn't." He teased. "The first time I asked him out he nearly laughed in my face." Daehyun whined to Youngjae's brother. "The second time I asked though, I think he took me a bit more seriously."

Jaehyun was giving him a bit of a look, like he could sense what was wrong with what Daehyun had said. "So, you just couldn't take 'no' as an answer then?" Youngjae wasn't surprised, his brother had always been a bit overprotective, and it had turned more towards the guys Youngjae hung out with the moment he found out his brother was gay.

"I couldn't take 'I would date you if you were smarter but right now I think you're an idiot' as an answer." Daehyun clarified. "If he had just said no, I would have taken it."  _Liar_  Youngjae wanted to scream, but he kept it to himself.

"So cruel, Youngjae." Jiyoon teased.

"He was getting straight D's and sometimes F's." Youngjae retorted. "I mean sure he's cute, but that was not good enough for me." He looked back at Daehyun for a second, nudging him with his shoulder. "You still could use to improve a bit, I think." If he was going to go with Daehyun's made up story, he was really going to go with Daehyun's made up story.

"We'll hope your genius rubs off on me then." Daehyun answered, something light and teasing in his voice.

"Youngjae," his mom called from the kitchen. "Why don't you come help me make dinner, hun?" Everyone seemed to see the way Youngjae stiffened, not comfortable going into their own kitchen, separated from the living room with a half wall, as much as he was not comfortable going to the one at school. Kitchens brought back awful, horrible memories, flashbacks of when he really thought he was going to die or something arguably worse.

"I don't want to." Youngjae whined in an attempt to pass off his discomfort as laziness.

"You're just worried I'll embarrass you more." Jaehyun accused, because he could see no other reason why Youngjae would refuse his mother's request since he had no clue what Daehyun had done to him.

Daehyun pecked his cheek and stood up. "I'll help." He volunteered, a friendly smile on his face.

"Oh, no, that's fine, dear." His mother said quickly, waving Daehyun to sit back down. "You're a guest, you just sit and enjoy yourself, okay? I'm sure Youngjae won't mind helping that much.

Youngjae gave Daehyun a pleading look, knowing Daehyun knew about his avoidance of kitchens. "No, really. I want to help." Daehyun answered with a smile. "Please, Mrs. Yoo?" He could see Jiyoon standing to then, stretching her arms for a second before trying to head to the kitchen herself, only to have Jaehyun catch her hand.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"I can't have him beat me out for favorite." She answered with a nod of her head towards Daehyun, clearly joking around. "Come on, kid. Mom'll keep telling you no, you just got to force her to let you help." At this point, having dated Jaehyun for several years, Jiyoon seemed to be comfortable referring to the two brothers parents as 'mom' and 'dad'.

"I don't know that I want to force anyone to do anything." Daehyun answered, in somewhat of a confused voice. "I would like to help, but if Mrs. Yoo would really rather I didn't then I won't." Youngjae felt it was rather hilarious to hear Daehyun say that given how much Daehyun had forced him into.

"Of course you can help if you really want to, hun." Youngjae's mother said. "And, please, just call me Mom. Even Zelo and Jongup call me Mom at this point and they're just Youngjae's friends." Daehyun promised he would, giving one of those award winning fake smiles as he and Jiyoon started to help out with the kitchen. Daehyun was given the rather easy tasks since he didn't know much about cooking, but he chattered along happily and offered to help wherever he could anyway.

The door opened a couple minutes later, while Youngjae had been chatting with Jaehyun and the three in the kitchen had all been talking to each other. In walked Jongup, a blank stare on his face as he walked over to peer into Youngjae's room without paying attention to the people scattered about the apartment. "Actually, I'm on the couch." Youngjae teased. "Or are you going to pretend I'm not here, Jongup?" The younger's attention was quickly drawn to him and the widest of smiles spread across his face.

"Youngjae!" He shouted, probably so Zelo would know to come over rather than having to go next door to get him. Youngjae let Jongup wrap him in a warm hug, picking him up and spinning him around a bit while Youngjae snapped at him about putting him down. "I thought you got abducted by aliens or something." He said jokingly. "Zelo said you had texted him some but I didn't believe it!"

"The alien that abducted me is in the kitchen." Youngjae replied very seriously, and Youngjae was sure Daehyun would have got him back for that if it hadn't made everyone laugh. Looking back, Youngjae could see Daehyun laughing too, giving a small wave to Jongup and a friendly smile.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Alien." Jongup said very seriously, making everyone laugh once again. "Thank you for bringing Youngjae back."

"It's no problem. He wasn't suitable for testing." Daehyun answered. "Besides, all he ever did was complain that our spaceship was tacky." Daehyun stuck his tongue out at Youngjae, who stuck his tongue out back. It was kind of nice being around Daehyun when he was in actor mode like this and playing along with Jongup's weird joke.

They could hear scrambling in the hallway then, and then a tall figure appeared in the door. "Youngjae!" Zelo called out, taller than Youngjae remembered. He gave a look to Jongup, who nodded, and Youngjae knew what that meant.

"No." Youngjae snapped, backing away. Jongup started running towards him, Zelo starting quickly as well, and Youngjae went running away. "Come on, guys, don't!" He whined as he ran. He didn't make it very far before Jaehyun tripped him, allowing the two other boys to catch Youngjae and tackle him to the ground. They shouted welcome home together and Youngjae just groaned. "This isn't cute anymore guys." He whined. "If you tackle me every time I come home then I'll stop coming home."

"You've been saying that since we were five." Zelo teased.

Youngjae hadn't heard Daehyun coming over, and yet when he looked up, Daehyun was there. "Are you okay?"  He asked, pursing his lips a little as Jongup and Zelo got off him to make way for whoever this intruder to their routine was. "It looked like you hit your head on the way down."

Youngjae was amazed by the showmanship, Daehyun was truly an amazing actor, pretending to be a concerned boyfriend who could only focus on Youngjae to the point that he had forgotten the others in the room. "I'll be fine." He mumbled, sitting up and rubbing the back of his head. He hadn't hit it very hard so he wasn't really worried.

Daehyun helped him up the and rubbed the back of Youngjae's head when he was standing. "I think you might get a bump." Daehyun answered and then he leaned forward to kiss Youngjae's head like a little kid kissing a cut. "All better."

"He's so cute!" Jiyoon cooed from the kitchen, Youngjae's mom joining in in agreement.

Youngjae could see Zelo glaring from behind Daehyun, and so he turned his attention to his friends. "Jongup, Zelo, meet my boyfriend Daehyun. Daehyun, this is Jongup and the tall one is Zelo." Zelo's glare only seemed to worsen as Daehyun gave them a friendly smile and shook their hands. "I think I mentioned them before." Youngjae said.

"Yeah, you said they were like your little brothers, right?" Daehyun asked. Zelo's glare was pretty much a permanent fixture on his face now, but Jongup rather looked relieved.

"Right." Youngjae had never said that, but it was pretty accurate to how he felt so it didn't really matter.

"I should probably get back to helping," Daehyun said innocently, giving a look back at the two in the kitchen who had pretty much finished preparing things by then.

"No, that's fine!" Jiyoon called out. "I think we've just about finished everything."

"Go play, kids." His mom cheered with a wave of her hand.

"Mom, I'm an adult." Youngjae snapped. Everyone was a bit surprised by how irritable he was being, only seeming to be calm when it was Daehyun he was interacting with.

"Well, you young adults go hang out then." She shooed.

They went to Youngjae's room, not far off from the main part of the apartment and everything they said would be was audible through the thin walls,  but that was how it normally went. The door was shut in a small attempt at privacy.

Zelo immediately went for Youngjae's bed, reaching out for Youngjae to join him, while Jongup sat on the floor and Daehyun sat on the desk chair. Smarter than to go cuddling with someone else while Daehyun was in the room, Youngjae sat himself on Daehyun's lap. It made the older laugh and kiss his cheek, but Youngjae knew it was all for show. He didn't know what Daehyun had against Zelo, but clearly it was something.

"So, was the school as bad as everyone makes it out to seem?" Zelo asked. "Because I was thinking of applying next year so we could be in school together again." He seemed happy, although Jongup only pouted at his words.

"Don't." Youngjae answered. "Really, you don't want to come to Private." Youngjae said with a wave of his hand, referring to the school by the nickname most students called it as. Zelo seemed a bit taken aback, but Youngjae really didn't want his friend subjected to what he had been subjected to, especially since he wouldn't have a Daehyun to come save him. "It's really difficult and most people aren't really friendly."

"I wouldn't say they aren't friendly." Daehyun cut it. "We're just not that used to outsiders, you know? We've all known each other since kindergarten, so like, all of us mostly already have our friend groups set and all. Unless you make a big effort, like you did, we kind of forget about you."

"I can handle that." Zelo said. Youngjae was used to him being a bit obstinant, but he knew he had to convince Zelo otherwise.

"I really would suggest just going somewhere you know you're going to get a full ride. The tests were difficult, even for me, so I don't think you'll be able to pass them the way I did, an then they'll expect you to pay for things like housing and food. You don't want to put that kind of stress on your parents, do you?"

"I guess not." Zelo answered, although he didn't seem to fully agree.

Youngjae made a quick effort to change the conversation topic. "What about you, Jongup? You're graduating high school, aren't you? Did you apply to Private or anything?"

"I didn't even try." Jongup answered. "I'm starting at Seoul University next year since they're giving me a scholarship. Not as glamorous, I know, but it's something, right?"

"Seoul U's a good school." Daehyun cut in. "I have a couple friends that bailed out of Private after high school to go there. It's not like cheaper means worse." He shrugged. "What are you planning on studying?" He seemed just as interested in Youngjae in keeping the conversation away from Zelo, but probably out of jealousy rather than concern for Zelo's welfare.

"Engineering." Jongup answered. "I figured it was go big or go home, and if I earn enough I can get my parents out of government housing."

Daehyun nodded. "That's a good plan. If you ever need help getting a job, you can just hit me up." Youngjae could tell Daehyun was just trying to get everyone to like him, and he was doing a really good job given the way Jongup's face lit up.

"Why don't you apply for Seoul U and go with Jongup." Youngjae suggested to Zelo. "I mean, you're young so you don't really need to think about it now, but it's a good school and you'll get a scholarship for sure." Jongup and Daehyun both voiced agreement to Youngjae's plan, and he realized everyone in the room had their own motivation for keeping Zelo out of Private.

Jongup went crawling onto the bed then, flopping onto Zelo and pulling him into his arms. "Come on, apply for Seoul next year, it'll be so much fun."

"I want to go to school with Youngjae, though." Zelo answered. He shrugged Jongup off and paid no attention to how his actions were making Jongup pout. "It can't be that bad."

"No, really." Youngjae asserted. "The tests cost a lot and you aren't going to get in."

"You don't know that." Zelo insisted. "I'm sure I'm smart enough to get in. If they let him in," he gave a jerky nod at Daehyun, "then there's no reason not to let me in."

"Honestly, I paid my way in." Daehyun lied. "I don't think you can afford that."

"That's kind of rude." Zelo sneered.

"I mean, you did just insinuate that he was stupid." Youngjae answered. "Why are you being so hostile? Daehyun hasn't done anything to you, and he's just backing me up here on the truth."

Zelo settled back and pouted, but didn't comment again since he wasn't getting anywhere. Youngjae turned to Daehyun to see if he was angry, but he seemed entirely nonchalant. Youngjae wanted to thank the heavens for Daehyun's actor mode. "It's okay." Daehyun mumbled to Youngjae, clearly just for effect on the people in the room. "I'm not really offended or anything. It's not like he knows me." Youngjae nodded and pecked his lips, nearly jumping off Daehyun's lap when Zelo groaned loudly in disgust.

 

The rest of the night went on with very little problem and Youngjae woke up in the morning with Daehyun's arm around his middle and his thumb rubbing gently over Youngjae's stomach. "'Morning." Youngjae mumbled, rolling on his back and entirely unsurprised when Daehyun responded by rolling on top of him. "Stop, what if someone comes in?" Youngjae whined. He wasn't fully awake, caught in some state where he could feasibly get up and do things, but unless he did he was going to fall back asleep. He hadn't slept well, just short winks of sleep in between hours of laying awake.

"Your parents both went to work and you brother took his girlfriend out for a date." Daehyun answered matter-of-factly before starting up on kissing Youngjae to stop any replies.  The kiss was long and slow, rougher than normal and Youngjae could already guess why.

"When do you need to go?" Youngjae asked when Daehyun moved to suck on his neck.

"Like twenty minutes from now." Daehyun answered before he was kissing Youngjae again, just as Youngjae expected. It wasn't long until Youngjae found himself pinned, which seemed to be Daehyun's new favorite position to put him in. His kisses were harsh and endless, not letting Youngjae up for air even when his chest started to hurt. "I don't think you should be seeing Zelo anymore." He said maybe ten minutes later when he finally let the kiss break.

"Why not?" Youngjae asked indignantly.

"Don't question me." Daehyun snapped back, tightening his grip on Youngjae's wrists for a second before he seemed to remember he was trying to get Youngjae to like him. "I think he has bad intentions." Daehyun tried to make his voice sound caring and sweet, but Youngjae was able to tell when he was acting now.

"I've been friends with him forever." Youngjae answered. "His only intention is to be my friend."

"You're so bad at reading people, baby." Daehyun cooed. "You know you are. Don't you remember how those nasty staff members tried to use you? How they touched you and hurt you?"

Youngjae couldn't quite remember that. He remembered talking to them, but it had just seemed like they were looking out for him. "No." Daehyun nipped at his neck, making Youngjae wince. His memory of what had happened before he was locked in the basement was a little strained and morphed. He couldn't quite remember the events in the right order and some parts seemed to be missing. Maybe he was wrong.

"You must have forgotten, baby. Don't you remember how when I walked in you were crying? How they were about to do such awful things to you?" Daehyun hummed gently, making Youngjae relax below him. He was still mostly asleep, not really up for fighting with Daehyun where his scarce memory disagreed. "You still have so many bruises that they left on you, how could you forget?" Daehyun asked then, leaving Youngjae's head swirling in confusion.

Youngjae couldn't remember. He couldn't. He knew something happened with the staff, and he remembered being scared for his life. He remembered being injured, in pain, and locked in the basement. Trying to remember was bringing on flashbacks and bringing on complete and utter terror as he tried to remember what had caused those events. He was talking with the staff. He trusted them. Then he couldn't remember, and he was in pain. A lot of pain, so much so that he thought he was going to die. He could remember thinking someone was about to rape him but he couldn't remember who. Was it the staff then? And Daehyun came in to save him? Youngjae couldn't remember. He couldn't breathe, stuck in that awful memory, in fear for his life as the events warped around him to fit his new perceptions of them. Daehyun finding him there, calling the staff off of him and firing them for what they had done, and humming.

Humming.

Youngjae heard humming and it pulled him back from the terrifying flashback he had been locked in. Normally it was nightmares that he's see it, in vivid detail along with what his classmates had done to him. It was Daehyun that saved him then too, right? Youngjae could barely remember, but that was what made sense. He was scared to sleep because of those nightmares, and if Daehyun wasn't by his side then he wouldn't. But underneath Daehyun, who was humming and nuzzling into his neck, Youngjae was able to come back from the memories plaguing him. "I'm scared." Youngjae whimpered.

"Why are you scared, baby?" Daehyun asked as he rolled off Youngjae and pulled the other into his arms. He started up on those soft, positive touches Youngjae remembered from the beginning of the year. Part of him screamed that this was Daehyun fucking with his mind, that the trauma had left him suggestible and Daehyun was taking advantage of that. Youngjae couldn't find much reasoning to that part, not with this feeling swirling around him like nothing was real and he was not himself.

"Everyone wants to hurt me." Youngjae answered. He felt dumb. He knew it wasn't true. Why would anyone want to hurt him? He couldn't think of a reason, but he must have done something. It was all his fault, after all. Again, that part was screaming that this was the trauma fucking with his mind but he couldn't put any evidence to it.

Daehyun hummed his tune again, until Youngjae was shaking a little less in his arms. "Everyone but me." He answered. "As long as you do what I tell you to, none of them will be able to hurt you. I promise, baby."

Youngjae nodded against him. "You're the best." He mumbled, tired and confused, scared but somewhat relaxed by Daehyun's presence. "So, no hanging out with Zelo?" He asked.

"Exactly." Daehyun answered, kissing his cheek as he continued rubbing his back and petting his hair, fingers moving in sync. "I think Zelo has bad intentions for you, and so you shouldn't see him any more. It would make me more comfortable knowing your safe from all these people that might want to hurt you, and so I think you should stay away from him, okay? We don't want another repeat of the staff incident, do we?"

"No." Youngjae answered. "You're right. I'll stay away from him."

"You don't really like him that much, even, do you?" Daehyun asked. Youngjae could still hear that part of his brain screaming that Daehyun was fucking with his mind, but he ignored it because he was near falling asleep and Daehyun's soft touches were only making it harder to stay awake. "You didn't like how he was acting last night, did you?"

"Probably not." Youngjae answered. "I don't like that he treats Jongup so badly even though Jongup is in love with him. He just uses him all the time."

Daehyun hummed for a short time and Youngjae thought he would fall asleep any second. "See? You don't even like him. You think he's mean and you know he's going to do bad things to you if you go hang out with him. He already hurt you yesterday, didn't he?" Youngjae nodded, he remember Zelo knocking him over and how it hurt. "I think I have to go now, baby." Daehyun cooed. "Give me a kiss goodbye."

Youngjae gave him a long kiss, gentle and tired as Daehyun kept up his soft touches until it was evident Youngjae had fallen back asleep. The older sat up and relaxed, stretching his arms and looking at Youngjae's sleeping form. "This shouldn't be so easy." He mumbled to himself. "It must have been more traumatic for you than I thought." He shrugged then, since it wasn't like he was going to need to deal with any of the symptoms for a month. So long as Youngjae followed Daehyun's new rules for him, his plan should still work out perfectly.

He didn't have to leave quite yet, but having Youngjae asleep was beneficial to him since it meant he could set things up the way he wanted. He went to Youngjae's desk and logged onto Youngjae's laptop to fiddle around with the settings. When he was sure everything was how he wanted it, he wrote Youngjae a note and left it on the nightstand, kissing his possession's lips for a couple seconds before he was willing to leave.

Jaehyun and Jiyoon were just getting back as Daehyun left the room, calm and collected with only his backpack. "You have to go so early?" Jaehyun asked. "Youngjae will be bummed if he doesn't get to say goodbye."

"I woke him up about a half hour ago to say goodbye." Daehyun answered, giving a longing look towards Youngjae's room. "I wish I could stay longer, but I promised I'd pick up my sisters and I know they'll be upset if I'm late." He paused for a second before bowing to the both of them. "Thank you so much for letting me stay over, please extend my thanks to your parents and my apologies for having to leave without a proper goodbye."

"No problem, man." Jaehyun answered. Daehyun was about to pass by to leave when he caught his arm though. "You take care of my brother at school, alright? I trust you to make sure no one is giving him trouble."

"Of course." Daehyun promised.

"And if you hurt my brother, I'll make you regret it." Jaehyun asserted.

Daehyun wanted to laugh in his face, to tell him he had no clue how large of a scale the damage he had already done was. But he didn't because he knew he had an act to keep up, and Daehyun was ever the actor. "I wouldn't dream of it." He lied, happy when Jaehyun accepted it and let him go.

 

With Daehyun gone, Youngjae grew to be addicted to his phone. Every second of every day was spent staring at it impatiently or in glee because Daehyun had texted or called him. His family at first would comment on it and try to draw Youngjae's attention to the 'real world', but they found they would be yelled at and Youngjae would lock himself in his room if they tried to interfere, and so they quickly gave up. Youngjae was making no efforts to meet with friends or even text anyone else back, he was entirely glued to the screen of his text conversation with Daehyun.

Most of the time, Daehyun would respond to him in an attempt to keep Youngjae's focus on him. Sometimes he would disappear for an hour or two, leaving Youngjae angry and miserable, throwing hissy fits at anyone that tried to bother him. He had gotten so bad as to throw pillows if someone came into his room and spent all of his time hidden under the blankets there, focused on his phone.

When Christmas came by, his brother risked getting hit by random projectiles to get into his brother's room, literally sitting on Youngjae and confiscating his phone until Youngjae agreed to talk to him. "Why are you so obsessed with your phone all of a sudden?" Jaehyun asked.

"I'm not obsessed with my phone." Youngjae answered.

"I literally have not seen you in three days." Jaehyun answered. "What are you even doing on here that's so important that you can't talk to your own family? If you don't come out for Christmas, Mom might break down crying."

"I'm just talking to Daehyun." Youngjae answered.

"Ah, yes, your wonderful, perfect boyfriend," Jaehyun rolled his eyes, "who isn't here right now and who probably has a family of his own to pay attention to. Why do you need to spend all of your time texting him?"

Youngjae didn't want to lie, but he wasn't allowed to tell the truth either. "It's complicated." He answered.

"Complicated how?" Jaehyun asked. "Is he making you text him every five minutes? Are you making him text you? Are you worried he's going to cheat on you? I'm grasping at straws here, Youngjae."

Youngjae let out a long sigh, trying to think of a way to explain without letting his brother know the truth. "It's just complicated."

"Complicated how?" His brother asked again, a bit louder this time. "Is it that you got yourself a rich boyfriend who dressed you up in ridiculously expensive clothes and buys you gifts and gives you money all the time and now you're too good for us? Do you hate us or something? It was bad enough when you just disappeared off the face of the planet for a month, would you get off your fucking high horse and tell me what's going on? Or at least stop making our mother cry because she thinks you don't care about us anymore?" Youngjae flinched, frozen for the entire time Jaehyun was yelling at him. "What's wrong?" His brother asked.

"It's complicated." Youngjae whimpered. He could feel tears boiling up in his eyes, having grown so quick to cry of late. "I don't— I don't want to talk about it, okay? Something really awful happened to me at school and Daehyun is the only one that understands and he's the only one that helps make me feel okay. I can't even fall asleep now. I've been staying in my room so Mom won't worry about the bags under my eyes."

When Jaehyun spoke again, his voice was softer like the caring older brother he had always been. "She's worried already." He said. It was clear he didn't know how to approach the situation. "You can't tell me what happened?" Jaehyun asked.

"I don't want to." Youngjae answered. "I don't think I could make it through the whole story."

"I don't know what to tell you." Jaehyun said softly. "I didn't realize something had happened. I— Is there anything I can do to help? I'm your big brother, I'm supposed to help with these things. I'm supposed to protect you."

"I don't know." Youngjae answered. "I don't know what to do or how to fix things and— it's all my fault I fucked everything up— I'm bad. I'm so awful. I'm a horrible, awful person and now I'm making all of you worry and I'm making Mom cry and I'm stupid and ugly and awful and—" Jaehyun cut him off before he could say anymore.

"Youngjae, calm down." He requested softly. He had never seen his brother like this, normally the picture of confidence in himself. This person sitting in front of him was the opposite of his brother. "I don't know, maybe some time away from school will help." Jaehyun suggested. "Put your phone down, see your friends, hang out with Dad and I. Maybe getting away from it completely will make it better."

"Daehyun will worry if I don't text him." Youngjae answered.

"You can still text him, just less." Jaehyun suggested. "You already call him every night, don't you? That should be enough."

"Maybe you're right." He answered. Youngjae didn't feel as though he knew how to make decisions anymore. Everything was always decided for him. Even his clothes came out of his suitcase in an order Daehyun had predetermined so that Youngjae wouldn't decide for himself what to wear. Being home and free of Daehyun had felt so odd that the only way Youngjae could think to deal with it was to withdraw in on himself and hide from it all. The world had stopped feeling real for several days, nonexistent outside of his phone, and so that is what he had clung to.

"Sure I am." Jaehyun said brightly. "Big brother knows best. Now, come on, Mom and Dad'll be up soon and it'll be the best Christmas present they could dream of if you were out of this room and waiting for them like normal. Christmas morning movies, remember? There'll be reruns on TV."

"Yeah." Youngjae answered. In Jaehyun's hand, his phone buzzed. "Wait, let me text him back first." He cried.

"It just says 'good morning'." Jaehyun read. "Let him think you're sleeping in." He said as he put it on Youngjae desk and tried to drag Youngjae out of the room with him.

"O-Okay." Youngjae answered as he let himself be pulled. Daehyun wouldn't be mad if he thought Youngjae was still asleep, right? Youngjae hadn't been awake for nearly every other time Daehyun had texted him that, as the late mornings were now one of the few times he slept. He quickly convinced himself he could spend an hour or two with his family before he would admit to Daehyun he was awake.

But one hour turned to four as Youngjae sat and watched a two-movie rerun with his family, all squished on the one couch together with his parents clearly so happy to see him out and off of his phone. Often they would turn to him and hug him or kiss his forehead, telling him how nice it was to spend Christmas with him there and off of his phone. Midway through the marathon, Zelo had shown up, Jongup in tow like he always was, and they had pulled Youngjae down to cuddle on the floor with them. Youngjae had been too busy enjoy all of the praise and positive touch he was getting to remember he wasn't supposed to see Zelo and that he was supposed to text Daehyun before hanging out with Jongup.

Suddenly, he found himself very, very afraid. The realization that he had broken not one but three of Daehyun's rules was terrifying to him and Youngjae had no clue how to handle it. Daehyun would know, would figure it out, if Youngjae tried to talk to him, right? It was like he had a sixth sense for when Youngjae broke the rules, and Youngjae was so terrified at the thought of punishment that he did the one thing that made sense. He decided to avoid it for a couple hours longer. He could play it off as sleeping in really late, right?

When the movies ended, Youngjae wanted to go get his phone to text Daehyun. Maybe he could lie about seeing Zelo and Jongup, or maybe if he didn't bring it up then Daehyun wouldn't find out. He felt twitchy as he debated running to his room for his phone, ready to call Daehyun crying and begging for forgiveness.

But it felt so nice being cuddled up with his two friends. He had known Zelo for all of his life, watching as the boy went from Junhong to Z-bot to Zelo in an attempt to rebel against his parents. Jongup had been a recent development, a boy Zelo had met at school the year before who now followed him around like a puppy and joined in on Zelo's tackle-Youngjae-whenever-he-gets-home game. To Youngjae, it was clear Jongup was there because he was in love with Zelo, but he felt like the youngest of them was completely oblivious to it, or maybe he knew and was using Jongup to get what he wanted.

Even then, they were his two best and only friends. Youngjae wasn't sure he could call Min a friend, but she was the next closest thing he had and she had said she was cutting off contact with everyone from school for at least a week to relax and recuperate. Maybe that's what Youngjae needed to do too— cut himself off from everyone at school to relax and mentally prepare himself to go back there.

After his friends had left, his family had sat around the couch eating breakfast. "It's so good to see you out of your room, sweetie." His mom cooed. "Did something happen with Daehyun? Did you get in a fight? Is that why your were glued to your phone?"

"He just doesn't like his family much." Youngjae lied, giving Jaehyun a warning look not to comment. "But I think he'll be okay now that his grandparents have come to visit." Youngjae was still debating when he was going to have to text Daehyun telling him he was awake. It was noon, so if it got any later, Daehyun would stop believing it. Hopefully he'd be able to get through opening presents before he texted Daehyun back, just so he'd have something else to talk to him about other than he rules he had broken.

"He seemed like a good kid." His father said, a rare praise from the rather stoic man. Youngjae knew him to be rather homophobic himself, even going so far as to defend Mr. Lee when he had kicked their neighbors out. When Youngjae decided to come out to his family, it was with the knowledge that he would get by if they kicked him out. It turns out his father's love was a bit stronger than his prejudice, luckily. "If you have to be gay, then it might as well be with someone that's going to take good care of you like him."

"Thanks." Youngjae mumbled softly. He was always uncomfortable talking about it with his family, since it was only really Jiyoon and Jaehyun that were accepting of him.

"You think you're going to try to visit your dad for Christmas, dear?" His mom asked Jiyoon. Her own mother had left when she was a child, and when Jiyoon got older her father turned rather abusive to her, which is why she spent most of her free time with Jaehyun rather than going home. "I think it would be better if you didn't, just in case." His mom added.

"If you'll stand me sticking around, I'd rather stay." Jiyoon replied.

"Oh you're welcome here always, dear." His mom replied. "You'll be my daughter soon enough anyway, right?" She gave a pointed look to Jaehyun who raised his hands as if to say he was innocent.

"She said I wasn't allowed to propose until we graduated." He replied.

"You got to make sure he gets into med school, right?" Youngjae teased, Jiyoon laughing along with him. "Although maybe you should wait until after so he can actually afford a nice ring."

"Maybe I'll just ask Daehyun to help me out." Jaehyun teased back.

Youngjae shrugged. "Honestly, he might." His family stared at him in shock for a second or two so Youngjae quickly made up a reason. "He really wants you guys to like him since he knows that it's important to me. I think he's a little worried that you all won't even though he's pretty much perfect because he's a boy."

"I liked him." Jaehyun answered. "It's good to know someone's looking out for you at school and he seems like a nice guy to me."

"He's just fine, hun." His mother added.

"Honestly, I'm just wondering how you got someone so hot to date you. Like, hot and rich, and he's a sweetheart." Jiyoon commented, laughing when Jaehyun glared at her for that.

His father was silent for a couple seconds before adding, "I already told you, I think he's good enough." Youngjae was able to relax after that, as the conversation drifted away to what they'd be doing with the rest of their Christmas. Everyone agreed they wanted to open gifts, since everyone had saved up a little and bought each other something when they found out Youngjae would be bringing gifts home.

The gifts they had given each other were small and thoughtful, things like sweaters or cheap jewelry that were more functional than anything else. Youngjae was relieved to see Daehyun's gifts for everyone else were reasonable: a standing mixer for his mom, some nice shoes for Jiyoon, and textbooks for the next semester for his brother. His dad had just gotten an envelope, and to everyone's surprise inside was just a check. "What did you ask him for?" His mother asked.

"Nothing." His father answered. "Youngjae, you got any clue?"

"He asked me what I thought you wanted and I said you'd probably want to get your knee fixed for good." Youngjae answered, mildly in shock. "I didn't think he would—" He stopped himself, instead staring at the check in shock. Youngjae had seen his mother cry countless times. It hurt every time, but it wasn't a rare occurrence. He had seen Jiyoon cry more than once and even his brother he had seen cry when Jiyoon ended up in the hospital the year before. But, Youngjae didn't think he had ever seen his father cry before that day, pulling him into a tight hug. Sometimes it was hard to remember that the person that gives their all to support you sometimes could use some help as well.

Youngjae didn't want to open his own gifts. There was only one under the tree but Youngjae knew Daehyun had hid others in his room. It was too much, just like he had warned Daehyun not to do. Too much. And that made him terrified because it meant Daehyun was coming back. He was going to find out Youngjae had broken rules, he was going to punish him again.

Youngjae knew Daehyun was waiting; he knew Daehyun would be staring at his phone waiting for his victory where Youngjae would text him saying it was too much and that he should come back. He couldn't give him that.

Inside the box Daehyun had left under the tree for him, there was a high-tech, fancy-looking watch. It was silver in color, but the card in the box from the maker promised it was platinum. He read through the card to figure out how to set it in an attempt to procrastinate texting Daehyun, and found a small note telling him how to open the watch to a secret compartment. He did so, wondering if Daehyun had hid something in there or even knew of it's presence.

A small note was waiting for him.

_A secret chamber for keeping my heart when I give it to you. Be good and it's yours._

Youngjae didn't want it. Youngjae didn't want any of this. He could hear his phone buzzing from his room but he didn't dare to look at it. He wouldn't answer. That was what he decided— he just wouldn't answer. He'd deal with the consequences when break was over, comfort in the short term over safety in the long term.

Youngjae was afraid.


	14. Chapter 14

Daehyun tried not to snarl or growl at his screen purely because his sisters were in the room and he didn't need to scare them with his jealousy. Youngjae hadn't responded to him in almost a week, and now he had Min over for some reason. "Does he know you hacked into his computer?" The older of the two, Jihyun, asked. She started hanging on his arm as she watched the two people on the screen sitting and talking.

"I didn't hack into his computer. I did this from his computer so it doesn't count as hacking." Daehyun replied, but his eyes were glued to the two of them, keeping one earbud in so he could listen to what they were saying. "And, yes, he knows I can see him whenever he's in line with the webcam on his laptop." Daehyun lied. At this point, he didn't even remember how to tell the truth, nor did he care to. So long as he was getting what he wanted, he didn't see a reason to care. "Why don't you go play dolls with Hyuna." He added and nodded his head toward their youngest sister who was sitting on the other side of the room, surrounded by the army of dolls she had gotten for Christmas.

"I'm thirteen." Jihyun whined. "I'm too old for dolls." 

Daehyun sighed, patting her head in a rather condescending manner. "You were cuter when you were seven like her." He said. Jihyun let out a frustrated sound and shoved him, but Daehyun only laughed and tickled her side. When she started laughing loudly, he stopped. "Be careful not to laugh too loud, Father won't be very happy with you if you're noisy."

"Father is never happy with us." Jihyun responded. "We look too much like our mothers."

"Then he shouldn't have divorced Mother for whores half his age. At least he came back to his senses and remarried her." Daehyun responded. "Regardless, I'm busy right now, so if you could just go play instead of hanging on me." Jihyun responded by grabbing the other earbud and sticking it in her ear so she could listen too, still snuggled up to her brother's side. "Fine, you can watch too. But if they start doing something inappropriate, you are going to leave and take Hyuna with you."

"So that you can break everything in here like you did in the front room when he wouldn't answer you?" Jihyun asked.

"I won't break Hyuna's new dolls." Daehyun promised.

"What about my phone?" She asked.

"If you want a new one, I'll break it." Daehyun answered. "Now shush."

"—like why does she need to spend all of her time hanging on other people and flirting with other people and shopping for those stupid tight dresses so she can show off her body? Like, I thought those were to impress  _me_  since she liked me so much. Turns out she's just a slut. And like, I don't know. It's ridiculous, right? She literally packed my suitcase for me, or like got a staff member to do it, but still! All because she has something against pants!" Youngjae laughed at that, but Min continued on with her rant. "No seriously, she  _hates_  pants or something. Like, she won't let me wear them anymore. Why do I need to wear a skirt all the time? Why does she need to wear a skirt all the time?"

"I thought girls liked skirts." Youngjae answered blankly.

Min rolled her eyes. "Not all girls like the same thing, Youngjae." She answered. "Really, though, I just don't know what to do. Do I just fight it out with her? Do I drop out? Do I break up with her?"

"Don't break up with her." Youngjae answered. Min waited for an explanation. "If you do, you'll become the target. Suzy will be pissed and she'll get Daehyun to name you. He isn't happy enough with me right now that he would just tell her to wait until Hayoung was gone. I can't protect you, then. Everyone will come after you and you'll have to quit."

"You could break up with Daehyun." Min suggested. "Then you could claim me and we'd protect each other."

"Would claiming you involve being in a relationship with you?" Youngjae asked and Min called him an idiot because of course that's what it means. "Sorry, then, I'm way too gay for that." He answered. "Besides, Daehyun would kill me, and I don't know that I'd want to be in a situation such that I'm not dating him." Jihyun aww'ed at Daehyun, who shoved her lightly in response.

"You should tell him you love him in front of everyone then." Min told him.

Youngjae let out a nervous laugh. "Um, not quite ready to say I'm in love with him yet." He said awkwardly. "Besides, why would I say it in front of everyone? It seems kind of personal."

"Do you not know about that?" Youngjae shook his head. "Shit, Daehyun should have told you. It's a good thing you haven't said it yet. That's another one of their weird ritual things." Youngjae asked what she meant, so Min continued on. "It's like the claiming but, like, more. Ok, so think about, like, Yongguk and Himchan, right? Yongguk does everything Himchan says and, like, doesn't really speak unless spoken to and just generally he's like a giant, slightly scary-looking puppy following Himchan around all the time. That's not just because Himchan claimed him. He's not broke like us so, like, he doesn't  _have to_  be that way. It's because when Himchan claimed him, Yongguk said he loved him and Himchan accepted his 'proof'."

"So it gave Himchan more power over him?" Youngjae guessed.

"Yeah, I mean, sort of. Whoever says it first is giving up either all or half of their power in the relationship. So if Daehyun said it to you, you'd be equals. And if you said it to Daehyun, well, I mean he's so good to you that I doubt he'd actually do anything, but like, he would essentially own you. But, it also means the couple can't break up, ever. That's why Jieun and Yoseob said it when they got back together at the party, so that they couldn't end it again. Of course, Yoseob said it that time so Jieun would be his equal, but still."

"Okay, so 'I love you', when said in public, means 'I am giving away all of my control in this relationship, either by making us equal or by lowering myself to nothing, and in return, you are not allowed to leave me ever in your life'? Why are there so many of these?" He asked.

"Pretty much exactly." Min answered. "And, I don't know. Some snooty rich kids drew up rules one day and everyone in the school has followed them for the 100 years since then." She hummed. "Right so, if you do say it to him, just know he's going to take proof. It's like the wrist thing with claiming, the other person has to show they want it too. So like, it can be anything they want, but it's supposed to be generally unpleasant. Himchan made Yongguk sit on the floor with his hands raised for ten minutes, Jieun made Yoseob drink the nastiest mixture of alcoholic drinks she could come up with— which I guess was probably something she was going to do anyway since I've seen them do that before but  _still_ — and so on. Daehyun will do something or other to you to prove that you mean it and really are giving him control, and then he'll say he accepts it and it'll be over."

"How many of these weird ceremonies are there?" Youngjae whined.

"Like five." Min answered.

"Wait, then I know three. What are the other two?" Youngjae asked.

"Worried you'll fuck up and do something then?" Min teased. "There's one for if you've said I love you and the other person says it back, but it depends on who the other person is. Like it's the same thing 'I love you too' and then the other person gets to take proof, but the meaning changes. So, like, if you were to tell Daehyun you loved him and give up all your control, then if he said it back and you accepted, it means he can, like, cheat on you or break up with you temporarily or make you the target or like beat you or whatever. I don't know. Accepting him saying that would be saying you trust him to never do anything bad to you ever, and so he's allowed to do them. Like, if it's just you saying 'I love you' and, like, if he doesn't say it back or you don't accept it, he  _has to_  treat you semi-decent. Like, he can't make you the target anymore, he can't break up with you, he can't cheat on you, etc. All that's back if you accept him saying it back."

"Ok, well, that's fucked up, but so is everything about this school. Like, really? Who came up with this?" Youngjae asked.

"I told you, snotty rich kids from 100 years ago." Min answered with a laugh.

"Rich people are the worst." Youngjae whined. "Okay, so that's what happens if I said it and he says it back, right? Or what would happen if Himchan said it to Yongguk, I guess."

"Yes, but he never will." Min answered.

"Why not?" Youngjae asked. "Does he not like Yongguk or something?"

"He definitely loves Yongguk." Min answered. "But he doesn't want that kind of power over him. When Yongguk said it immediately after Himchan claimed him, it was strategic. It was to make it so Himchan couldn't make them equals because Himchan's father wouldn't stand for it.  Oh my god, though, all the gossip that was going around the schools when this happened was ridiculous. Everyone knew in like two minutes, even the five year olds. And then, Yongguk's brother couldn't stand all the rumors so, like, he told everyone why it happened."

"Okay, so, that's weird, but kind of cute, I guess. But  _anyway,_ I want to know what happens if it's the other way around. Like, if Jieun says it back to Yoseob or if Daehyun said it to me first and I said it back. Is it the same thing?"

"No, If it's that way— Daehyun says he loves you and you say you love him back— he's lowering himself to be below you. So, like, if that whole thing happens, it's a complete role reversal, right? Like, right now, technically, even if he's just pretending, Daehyun has control over you. If that happens, you have control over him. Seriously, like all of the rituals are just a fucking power play."

"So, what's the last one then?" Youngjae asked. Min looked confused. "You said their were five— the kissing the neck thing, claiming, the 'I love you' thing, the 'I love you too' thing, and what?"

"Oh!" Min jumped a bit and relaxed. "Trials. The last thing is a trial. If someone breaks a rule, the 'heads' of each grade get together and hear out both sides of the story and decide what happens. So, like, that one's really complicated, and I haven't actually ever seen one happen because no one breaks the rules, but typically it ends with someone being the target. I don't really know what happens besides that."

"Who are the heads of each grade?" Youngjae asked.

"Let's see, um, it's the class president of each grade, the richest student of each grade, and the student ranked first for grades. So, for your grade that's Suzy, Daehyun, and you. For my grade it's Jieun, Naeun— who you probably don't know, she's way below Daehyun and Himchan so she's practically irrelevant— and me. I don't think you know anyone for third year, but um, the class president is Sunggyu and he's ranked highest, and the richest is Kibum, but he's gone for the year. And for the fourth years it's Himchan, twice, and Yongguk is ranked highest for grades. So, if there were a trial, those people would make the decisions."

"What if one of them is put on trial? Like, what if Daehyun and I don the 'I love you' thing and he tries to break up with me? Do we decide what happens?" Youngjae asked.

"No, then you're excluded and there are less judges." Min said. "Who knows, we might see one soon."

"Why?" Youngjae asked.

"The rumor mill says Sunggyu likes Hayoung, so he might petition for her release from being the target. I mean, like, he'll try reasoning with you and Daehyun first, but if you won't budge then he'll ask for a trial and all three of you won't be able to comment. Nothing will happen to you, though, in that case they'll just, like, decide if she stays the target or not, probably with some condition if not."

The conversation drifted on but Daehyun couldn't say anything interesting happened until Min left, leaning over to peck Youngjae's cheek. Youngjae winced and moved away from her, as if the touch had stung him. He didn't comment, but once she had left he started crying, curling up under the covers of his bed.

"Why is he crying?" Jihyun asked.

"He doesn't like when people who aren't me touch him." Daehyun answered. 

Youngjae would certainly be more upset if he knew Daehyun had seen that, but since he didn't he was just mumbling over and over to himself "it doesn't matter, he doesn't know. He doesn't know that happened. You can pretend it didn't."

 

It was a couple days later and Daehyun was still glued to his computer or phone screen, always watching Youngjae because the younger wasn't responding. Of course, he was furious, but he wanted to know how long Youngjae would drag this on for. With each day, Daehyun's thoughts on his punishment would get crueler and crueler, but he would wait for Youngjae to come to him. Daehyun could be patient so long as Youngjae understood that every second he spent breaking the rules would amplify the punishment he got when he came back.

The sound of Youngjae's door locking drew his eyes to the screen of his laptop. His possession flopped down on his bed, rolling around for a couple minutes. Youngjae seemed to be trying to do various things— reading different books and occasionally picking up his phone only to put it down again without turning it on, and it was pretty easy for Daehyun to conclude Youngjae was bored. He went on his computer for a couple minutes before getting off and going back to lie on his bed and roll around some more. It was rather uninteresting to watch, maybe, but Daehyun felt so deprived of Youngjae lately that even this was wonderful. He had started staying up late to watch Youngjae sleep, consistently with the lights on and often waking up. Something about Youngjae's newly found insomnia pleased Daehyun, who knew it was nightmares keeping his possession awake. He thought the younger deserved to suffer in that way for giving him the silent treatment.

After several minutes of bored rolling around, Youngjae finally ended up on his back, running his hand down his chest and over the front of his pants. It took Daehyun a couple seconds to realize what was happening because of the angle, but as Youngjae kept palming over the front of his pants, Daehyun realized. He stood quickly to close and lock his own door, eyes not daring to leave the screen as Youngjae pulled his cock out of his pants, whimpering slightly as his hand wrapped around it.

Daehyun could feel himself growing hard, settling on his bed so that he could watch the scene unfold on his laptop while he palmed at himself through his pants. He liked the little whimpering noises Youngjae made, almost as if he was in pain, and watched as he shifted around until he was sitting and pulled off his clothing unceremoniously. He ran fingers over his skin, neglecting the erection now in full view for Daehyun as he rubbed at his nipples and tugged on his hair, before he trailed his hands back down to fondle his balls and start fisting his dick again. He was letting out little, pleased moans as he touched himself and leaned his head back against the wall.

So, there was Youngjae: eyes closed as he sat on his bed, legs spread just a bit as he played with himself. He was letting out little moans and whimpers and trying to move his hips in sync with his hand.

As for Daehyun, he sat there in his own room, watching, palming the front of his jeans at the sight. Daehyun found it more exciting, more pleasurable, that he was watching this without Youngjae knowing. It was made even better with the knowledge that Youngjae wouldn't want him to be watching. Daehyun knew without a doubt that if Youngjae knew Daehyun had hacked into his webcam and was watching him, he would never be jacking off where Daehyun could see him. He knew that Youngjae would not want him to watch this, and that made Daehyun like it even more.

His hand dared it's way into his pants, slowly stoking himself as he watched Youngjae do the same, unknowing of the hungry eyes watching him. Daehyun loved it, loved how much he knew Youngjae would hate him for watching this. At any moment he could hack into Youngjae's computer and take control, open a video call between them, and watch Youngjae break down in tears at the knowledge that Daehyun had seen him him touch himself.

That thought in itself, Youngjae in tears, made Daehyun feel like he might come then and there. All of it was so sexy to him— Youngjae touching himself, being able to watch without Youngjae knowing or wanting him to, and the idea of Youngjae crying. Daehyun moaned.

Before he stopped thinking, Daehyun quickly set up his computer to record what was on the screen so that he could watch Youngjae do this over and over, and maybe even show the younger one day so that Daehyun could enjoy the pain and embarrassment Youngjae would feel with the knowledge that Daehyun had watched him do this.

Suddenly, Youngjae paused. His brows were furrowed and he seemed to be thinking. A second later he went crawling to his nightstand, grabbing the bottle of lotion on top and staring at it with his bottom lip tugged between his teeth. 

"I could try it." Youngjae mumbled to himself. "It might hurt less when Daehyun decides to if I've done it to myself before."

Youngjae settled back on the bed, now at the perfect angle for Daehyun to watch him as he spread the lotion over all of one hand and the fingers of his other. He slumped a bit and returned to jacking himself off slowly, resuming those soft whimpering noises. Daehyun turned his volume up so he could bask in them, glad he was recording.

A minute or so later, Youngjae was shutting his eyes tightly and biting his lip, as if he was anticipating pain. He rubbed the index finger of his free hand over his hole a couple times before taking a deep breath and slipping it in.

Daehyun stifled a moan, watching as Youngjae experimentally moved that finger around inside of himself, slowing the hand on his cock as he experimented with the feeling. After a minute or two he clumsily tried to add a second finger, and let out a short, pained whimper. Youngjae paused, but tried again, slowly adding the second finger and whimpering again. He took several long, deep breaths and then started moving both of his hands again, stretching himself with those two fingers carefully. A couple minutes later and he was adding a third finger, again pausing everything as he sat there and whimpered until the pain subsided enough for him to continue. 

Youngjae was moving slowly as he stretched himself with is fingers, adjusting how he was sitting in a way that made it so Daehyun had a clear view of the three fingers now working in his hole. He was letting out soft keens and moving his hips around, the hand on his cock lazily stroking as his attention was focused instead on his ass.

"Good boy." Daehyun heard Youngjae mumble to himself, a wave of pleasure taking over him because he knew Youngjae used to disdain those words.

A couple seconds later Youngjae let out a choked strangled moan, arching off the bed with his fingers buried deep inside him. His skin was a bright pink and his eyes went wide where before they had been shut. "Ma— Master—" Youngjae moaned out, and two things grew to be apparent to Daehyun. The first was that Youngjae had just found his sweet spot, and given that his fingers had stopped moving, was now just pressing up against it despite how overwhelming that pleasure must have been for someone as unexperienced as him. The other was that he was imagining it was Daehyun touching him— that had to be the case, given the words that Youngjae was whispering to himself, as if he was carrying on a conversation between himself and Daehyun.

"Dae— Master, please—" Youngjae whimpered to himself, and then he finally pulled his fingers back, however momentarily. He only pulled them about half of the way out of himself before he was shoving them back in roughly, arching up again and moaning Daehyun's name loudly at the sensation.

Daehyun swore if Youngjae continued moaning his name then he would not last much longer, letting out his own soft moans in time with Youngjae's. Both of Youngjae's hands sped up as he whimpered and moaned. He seemed to be struggling to breath a little, his breath coming out in harsh, ragged pants that had his chest inflating and deflating on an irregular beat. Timing was quickly lost and a couple seconds later Youngjae was moaning Daehyun's name loudly and coming, with white stripes splattering up his chest and almost reaching his neck.

Daehyun finished quickly after, shoving a wad of tissues over the tip to catch the release as his eyes stayed glued to the screen. Youngjae just laid there for about a minute before he was shifting up and carefully wiping himself off with his own wad of tissues. His face was still flushed red even though he had seemed to calm down. He was embarrassed by what he had done even if he did not know Daehyun had watched him.

For some reason, that pleased Daehyun more than anything else.

 

Youngjae had never intended for it to go on this long, but about a week and a half after Christmas, he was cuddled up to Zelo's side watching movies in the younger's room and he had not texted Daehyun once. He told himself that he would call Daehyun that night with some excuse, because in reality he rather missed Daehyun. When the older was nice to him and actually acted like they were a couple, rather than acting like Youngjae was his possession, he couldn't really object much to his presence. Plus, Daehyun was reasonable, wasn't he? He couldn't be  _too_  upset that Youngjae hadn't been texting him.

Zelo's hand trailing up and down his side gently drew Youngjae's attention away from his thoughts. He snuggled a bit more into his friends side as the movie went on, and it continued on like that for maybe a half hour before Zelo made another move. The next one he made was one that had Youngjae worried, that hand that was rubbing his side had trailed down to rest on Youngjae's thigh.

His hand slowly moved inward, resting on Youngjae's inner thigh for a second and then lightly over his crotch. At the same time, Zelo turned his head to start kissing Youngjae, who immediately in response to the two actions shoved Zelo off of him. "What are you doing?" He demanded.

Zelo shrugged. "I thought maybe you'd want to have a little fun." He tried to pull Youngjae toward him and managed to kiss him again before he was shoved away.

"Stop it!" Youngjae demanded. "Stop, Zelo, I don't want to." He practically yelled when Zelo didn't listen.

"Why not?" Zelo demanded. He sounded offended.

"I have a boyfriend!" Youngjae answered. "And I really don't like you like that." Zelo glared at him for a couple seconds before trying again, only to be shoved away as Youngjae climbed off the bed they were sitting on and backed away. "I said no!" He shouted.

"Why not? Am I not good enough for you? Why are you with him and not me?" Zelo demanded.

"Zelo, we're just friends." Youngjae answered, confusion evident in his voice.

"That's not fair!" Zelo shouted at him. "I don't want to be your friend, I want to be your boyfriend! We've known each other since we were kids, it's not fair that you pick some stupid asshole over me just because he's rich."

"I don't like Daehyun just because he's rich." Youngjae defended.

"So? Does it matter?" Zelo shouted. "I've been there for you through everything! I was there for you when those kids in middle school were bullying you, I was there when you thought your dad would kick you out for being gay, I was there for you through every test you stressed about, through everything! So why don't you love me?"

"I do love you, Zelo, but as a friend." Youngjae answered, his voice cracking a little. He was afraid, slowly backing away as Zelo approached him.

"You friendzoned me? Zelo accused with a hiss. "After everything I've done for you?"

"You're supposed to be there for your friends?" Youngjae responded in confusion. He really didn't understand this. Why was Zelo, who had been his friend all his life, acting like this? 

"Yeah, so that one day they fall in love with you!" Zelo answered. "This isn't fair." He shouted. Youngjae whimpered, shrinking away quickly. This was too much like Daehyun, too much like all of the times he had been hit in the past. "Why do cute guys like you always fall for assholes?" Zelo demanded. "Daehyun's an asshole, he's a piece of shit! He doesn't know you the way I know you. I would be so much better for you. I've been with you through everything. But you won't leave him for me, will you? All of you are the same, you only like him because you think he's hot! You're so shallow."

"Please stop yelling." Youngjae answered. He was clearly visually uncomfortable and upset, yet Zelo didn't seem to respond besides yelling.

"I'm not yelling." Zelo yelled. "I'm a nice guy, unlike him. I would never yell at you. So why don't you like me? What's wrong with me, huh?" He crossed his arms and waited, but Youngjae didn't have an answer. He had no interest in dating Zelo, the idea was near repulsive because Zelo was just a friend in his mind, but he didn't know how to explain that.

"I just don't like you that way." Youngjae answered. He shrunk up against the wall he had backed into as Zelo took the couple steps between them.

"That doesn't make sense." Zelo said. "You should love me after everything I've done for you. You should want to be with me too! Not with some asshole that probably treats you like shit all of the time. Come on, I'd be so good to you. I'd treat you like a prince." He went in to kiss Youngjae again, who promptly shoved him away.

"I said no! Don't touch me!" He shouted, but Zelo tried again anyway.

The door to the room slammed open, revealing Jaehyun. "Why is my little brother crying?" He demanded after a second of looking between the two of them. He was just getting back from a date with Jiyoon only to hear Youngjae shouting and screaming, and decided to investigate like the protective older brother he was.

"He friendzoned me!" Zelo shouted.

"The friendzone isn't real," Jaehyun answered, "and you need to calm down."

"Fuck you." Zelo spat back. He turned to Youngjae then. "Fuck you too, you shallow bitch." Youngjae whimpered, curling into his brother's side and shaking. He was so afraid, but at least there was someone there to protect him.

Jaehyun was calm, running his fingers up and down Youngjae's back as he glared. "If you go near my brother again, I'll make you regret it." Jaehyun growled. "You don't get to be angry at someone just because they won't sleep with you, especially if they're seeing someone else. Grow the fuck up." He pulled Youngjae away then by the wrist and took him to their own apartment where Jiyoon was sitting on the couch waiting.

Youngjae burst into tears, clinging to his brother as he cried on his shoulder. "I thought—" _hiccup_  "we were friends—"  _hiccup_  "why did he freak out?"

"Because he's a piece of shit." Jaehyun answered. "The friendzone is nonsense that immature people made up because they can't stand rejection and there is nothing wrong with you not wanting to date him." He was silent for a couple moments, just trying to calm his brother down, before he added. "Did he hurt you? Did he do anything bad to you?"

"He kept trying to kiss me." Youngjae answered. "Even when I pushed him away and said 'no' he wouldn't stop trying."

Jaehyun growled but Jiyoon quickly cut him off. "Jaehyun, don't. Beating up the neighbor kid could get you arrested, even if he's a piece of shit who deserves it. Youngjae, do you want some ice cream? It'll make you feel better and we can sit and talk about it."

"I want to call Daehyun." He answered. Jaehyun let him go, kissing the top of his head and going to sit next to Jiyoon.

Youngjae took a deep breath and went into his room, closing and locking the door behind him and picking up his phone, finally turning it on. He was shaking, sat in front of the computer as he sobbed and waited for Daehyun to pick up the phone.

"Look who's finally come to his senses." Daehyun's voice remarked. "Plug in your headphones and video call me  _now_. You're in a lot of trouble, Youngjae."


	15. Chapter 15

"You were right about Zelo." He said it quickly, purposefully, and bitterly before Daehyun could even speak. Youngjae knew Daehyun would be more fixated on the fact that Youngjae had been ignoring him, but he wanted to make it clear what had broken his resolve. He was looking for pity and he was looking for a way out of his punishment. If there were ever a time to employ his knowledge of how to control Daehyun, it was then.

Daehyun was near frozen, staring at him with the anger slowly draining from his features. In it's place rose confusion, and a little concern because Youngjae was still crying. Humming carried through his earbuds, that same tune as always, and Youngjae forced deep breaths to fill his lungs until he had calmed down some. Daehyun kept humming, even when Youngjae was visibly calmed down. It was minutes after that he stopped, and by the time he had, Daehyun himself looked calmed. "What happened, baby?" He asked, his voice lilting and a bit sweet.

"I was stupid and wrong." Youngjae answered, knowing it was what Daehyun wanted to hear. "I thought you were just being jealous and I thought he was my friend but—" He had to take a long pause to breathe, and Daehyun started humming again for the short period it seemed Youngjae was distressed. "The first couple times we hung out, Jongup was there and so nothing happened. But today I went over to watch movies with him. We were in his room, on his bed, watching movies on his laptop like we used to when we were kids. At first he just had his arm around me. I wasn't comfortable with it but I didn't want to kick up a fuss over nothing. But then he— he started to touch me and kiss me and—" Youngjae paused. He was shaking a little. "I pushed him away but he kept trying. He wouldn't take no for an answer and he just kept— and then he started yelling at me. He said I was awful for not wanting to be with him— and— and then— after he yelled and tried to kiss me again— Jaehyun heard me and came in and— You were right. You were right and I'm  _sorry_  and—"

Humming cut off Youngjae's words. Daehyun didn't stop until Youngjae had slumped in his seat. "I hate to say it, but I told you so." Daehyun's voice held the notion that even he was surprised he had been right about Zelo. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I thought he was my friend." Youngjae said, and then he was sobbing again. Daehyun didn't try to stop him that time.

"That's because you're bad at reading people, aren't you, baby?" Daehyun answered, and Youngjae nodded. "Don't you think this could have been avoided if you had just listened to me and done what I asked you to do?" Youngjae nodded again. "What do you want me to say? What can I do?"

"Come get me." Youngjae said without thinking. "I don't care where you take me or what you do to me as punishment, come get me. Take me away from here. I can't be here anymore. Not when he's right next door. Not when at any time he could come over here and— and  _touch_  me again when there's no one here to stop him. I need you, Daehyun, please."

If Daehyun had been angry before, it had been all but lost to Youngjae's words, which had been carefully picked for that effect.  "I'll be there in four days." He said after a second or two. "Don't you dare break the rules again, Youngjae. During those four days I expect you to be on your best behavior. I expect a text every ten minutes with what you're doing, where you are, and who you're with. I expect you to call me every day when you wake up in the morning and before you go to bed. I expect you to ask for permission before doing anything with anyone that isn't family. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yeah." Youngjae nodded. "I promise I won't slip up again." It was silent for a couple seconds as Youngjae came up with arguably the best excuse ever. "I'm so sorry." He mumbled, batting his eyes just a little bit.

"Why on Earth would you have stopped talking to me?" Daehyun asked. "What was the reasoning? Why would you think that was a good idea?"

Youngjae took a deep breath, preparing himself for the lie of the century. It would be harder for Daehyun to tell over the internet, right? Another deep breath and he looked directly into the camera as if he was looking directly into Daehyun's eyes. "It's embarrassing." He dropped his eyes for a second. "I— I just—" He gulped, forcing a blush and biting his lip because he knew Daehyun would take it as Youngjae being nervous.

"What is it?" Daehyun asked. 

Youngjae ducked his head for a second before looking directly into the webcam. "I was scared because..." He trailed off. Daehyun just waited for him to finish. "... because I'm falling in love with you," Youngjae lied, "and I wasn't sure you felt the same way."

Watching the way Daehyun's face changed, Youngjae knew he had tricked Daehyun. With those words, Youngjae thought he might have just saved himself. He would have to train himself to lie believably when looking into Daehyun's eyes, but for now he had done what he could. "I do." Youngjae wanted to laugh because he did not love Daehyun and Daehyun did not love him. But his voice was soft and amazed, like he was getting everything he had ever wanted, and Youngjae was not about to contradict him when he may have just assured his own safety. "That's why you stopped answering?" He asked.

"Yeah." Youngjae answered. "I was just so scared and embarrassed and I was worried I would blurt it out and you would laugh and—" He smiled sweetly. "Now I guess I was worrying for nothing."

The look in Daehyun's eyes told Youngjae he had succeeded. He had won.

 

When there was a knock at the door four days later, Youngjae refused to acknowledge it. He had yet to tell his parents that he would be leaving with Daehyun, but Jaehyun and Jiyoon had overheard his conversation with him and had carefully side-stepped the issue since. Their own perceptions on the nature of the two's relationship was rather innocent, so the had no reason to suspect Youngjae was leaving for any other reason than that he did not want to be around Zelo.

So, naturally, when the knock at the door came those four days later, Jiyoon went to let Daehyun in with a warm smile. A whispered conversation was carried briefly between the two on what had happened and how Youngjae had been since Zelo's tantrum, namely that Youngjae was crying all the time and had locked himself in his room for most of the day every day. "Daehyun!" Youngjae's mom had called when she finally came to see who the visitor was. "I wasn't expecting you, does your school start again so early?" She asked.

"Yes." Daehyun lied. "It's a little early, but Youngjae said he was having trouble being so close to..." He nodded his head in the general direction of Zelo's apartment and Youngjae's mother accepted it without question.

"Youngjae, dear." She called out, since Youngjae was hiding in his room. "Daehyun is here. Ah, he might not be able to hear me. Lately he's been drowning us out with music." She pouted just a bit so Daehyun returned with a sympathetic smile.

"He's been having a hard time lately." He said, mocking a sad look on his face. "I know he loves you all very much; it's just some of our peers getting him down."

She seemed to brighten up a bit with that and Daehyun gave a small wave to everyone else in the apartment before heading into Youngjae's room. The younger was hidden under the covers, probably looking at his phone for a text from Daehyun, but Daehyun had been obstinately refusing to text Youngjae back out of spite for Youngjae ignoring him. He shut the door and locked it behind him before sneaking up on the pile of blankets. He pulled them off dramatically, laughing when Youngjae shrieked. 

"Hey!" Youngjae whined, but he reached for Daehyun anyway knowing it would win him some points. "I missed you." He lied softly.

"I missed you too." Daehyun answered, sitting on the bed and hugging Youngjae to him. He did his best to expedite their departure, cutting short most of Youngjae's goodbyes with some phony excuse that they'd be late to wherever they were going as he practically dragged Youngjae out the door. Jaehyun came along to see them out, but the whole event occurred in no more than five minutes before they were out walking on the brief grassy area outside Youngjae's apartment building.

They came out the door of the building just as someone was coming into the gate, that being Zelo and Jongup. Youngjae ducked behind Daehyun quickly as three of the five males puffed out their chests and tried to look tough, the other nonaggressive one being Jongup, who had no clue what was going on. 

"What is he doing here?" Zelo sneered to Youngjae, who just scooted further behind Daehyun. "Can't go too long without your sugar daddy, huh?"

"Watch your mouth." Daehyun answered.

"Make me." Zelo challenged, shoving Daehyun lightly. "I bet your bitch boyfriend won't like you anymore if you hit me."

Daehyun's eyes narrowed and he gave a brief look to Jaehyun. "Great, you pushed me." Zelo was about to scoff but Daehyun continued. "Now if I punch you for harassing Youngjae, I can claim self defense." Youngjae looked up at the loud smacking sound, watching Zelo hold his cheek in shock and pain. "That's for trying to kiss him and touch him without permission." Daehyun said, and then he punched Zelo again. "That's for continuing when he told you to stop." He raised his hand to punch Zelo again but Jaehyun stopped him.

Jaehyun raised his fist instead and punched Zelo square in the jaw. "That's for making my little brother cry." He added. Daehyun looked at him and they both nodded. "Jongup, find someone better than him." Jaehyun instructed. "Don't be friends with people that don't understand what 'no' means." Jongup offered a confused nod and the three continued on to Daehyun's waiting car as if nothing had happened. "Take care of my little brother." Jaehyun told Daehyun firmly. 

"Always." Daehyun answered.

"If you hurt him I'll beat the shit out of you." Jaehyun added.

Youngjae near-winced at that award-winning fake smile that spread across Daehyun's lips, as charming and fake as ever. "I wouldn't dream of it." He answered.  _Of course you wouldn't dream of it. Why dream of something you're already doing?_  Youngjae thought. Daehyun's grip on his hand was tight, as if he was worried Youngjae was about to go running off. In all honesty, Youngjae was debating shouting that Daehyun was abusing him and letting the two duke it out. But, at the same time, he recognized that Daehyun had the power to make sure his family could never find anywhere to live again. He had the power to make sure they never had jobs again. He had the power to make Youngjae's life and his family's lives a living hell until Youngjae came back to him, and he wasn't about to put them through that.

If being with Daehyun and getting hit every once and a while meant keeping his family safe from Daehyun's wrath, then he could stomach it. As much as he didn't want to and as much as he hated Daehyun, he didn't really have a choice. Youngjae knew he was powerless.

Well, he could pray that Daehyun would say he loved him in front of everyone at school. Youngjae would probably come up with a really simple, easy proof even. If it meant having control over anything in the relationship it was worth it, even if it meant being stuck with Daehyun forever. He probably was anyway, he could only hope he could trick Daehyun into making it comfortable for him.

Daehyun didn't let them spend much longer on talking before he was ushering Youngjae into the car, going silent the moment the doors were closed and they started moving away from the apartment.

"Are you still mad?" Youngjae asked, trying to make a cute face as he rested his chin on Daehyun's shoulder and hugged onto his arm.

"Was there a single rule you didn't break?" Daehyun retorted.

"They weren't rules, they were requests." Youngjae tried, but the glare Daehyun sent him silenced him quickly. After a second or two he added. "I didn't work any and I didn't text anyone, that's two that I didn't break. And I've been good for the past couple of days, right?" Daehyun gave a long sigh and then pecked the top of Youngjae's head, but he still wouldn't say anything. "How far away are we from wherever we're going?"

"My family has an apartment in Seoul, although we don't use it much. I called ahead and told them to prepare for us to be there until school starts. It'll probably take around forty minutes, just because, you know, we live in the good part of town."

"Of course, you couldn't risk living near the vagabonds like me." Youngjae grumbled. Daehyun squeezed his shoulder roughly and made him wince.

"Watch yourself." Daehyun scolded. "I'm not in the mood for any of your sass. It's not particularly cute when I'm mad at you."

"Sorry." Youngjae mumbled. He had hoped Daehyun would be in a better mood given his brilliant excuse and how well he had followed the rules since he started to talk to Daehyun again, but it seemed he had no such luck. On the bright side, Youngjae had planned for that possibility, and still held a quiet hope he could avoid being punished. He really didn't think he could take it.

Sadly, his plan had involved an incredibly awkward talk with Jiyoon about the mechanics of what he was about to do. He hoped he had learned well enough that it would make Daehyun forget he was angry.

So with Daehyun sort of fuming next to him and trying to give him the cold shoulder, Youngjae acted. It was subtle at first, just cuddling into Daehyun's side even though he was ignoring him. Within a couple minutes, he had worked his way onto Daehyun's lap in such a slow manner that Daehyun probably didn't notice the change, and then he began kissing and sucking on Daehyun's neck, occasionally teasing the skin between his teeth for just a second before he'd continue on.

"What are you doing?" Daehyun was trying to sound cold, Youngjae could tell, but he could also tell Daehyun's resolve was quickly slipping.

"I missed you." Youngjae answered innocently. "I want to show you how much I missed you." He could feel Daehyun tense at the words and for a second he thought he would push him off his lap. Instead, Daehyun leaned forward and opened the divider between them and the driver.

"Why don't you take the long way and listen to some music?" He suggested to the driver, holding Youngjae tightly to him so he wouldn't go sliding off his lap. 

"Yes, Sir." The driver answered. Daehyun closed the divider and the radio playing softly in the background raised in volume until it flowed through the entire car. Daehyun sat back then, pulling Youngjae with him.

"Show me how much you missed me then." Daehyun challenged. Youngjae could tell Daehyun wasn't expecting much, maybe just making out that he could push into something slightly sexual, and Youngjae wasn't going to dispute that at first. He wanted it to be a pleasant surprise because hopefully that would make Daehyun happier with him. He really didn't want to get hit.

He pressed his lips against Daehyun's with a happy hum and did his best not to object in the slightest when Daehyun responded by trying to shove his tongue down his throat and kissing him roughly. He rested his hands on the warm skin of Daehyun's neck and just let Daehyun kiss him as he pleased. Sharp teeth bit into Youngjae's lower lip and dragging him closer into the unpleasant kiss. He wasn't about to object though. He knew it was better to just let Daehyun have whatever he wanted.

Youngjae waited until Daehyun pulled away for air before he said anything. "Master, can I touch you?" He hated those words and hated that he was saying them, but he could feel how excited Daehyun got at hearing them and knew they were worth saying. Daehyun gave the slightest nod and Youngjae sealed his lips onto his neck again, sucking at the skin as he ran his fingers down Daehyun's chest.

Of course, running his fingers over Daehyun's muscles was for his own pleasure as much as it was for Daehyun's. Youngjae had pretty much accepted that he found Daehyun attractive, even if he hated literally everything about the older. Finding someone attractive did not mean he loved them, or even liked them, and so it was okay. It possibly even made his situation somewhat tolerable, although not quite. If Daehyun stopped hurting him, it would be tolerable. Daehyun yanked him off his neck by the hair and smashed their lips together again, and then he pulled Youngjae forward with two hands planted firmly on his ass. Rather than objecting, Youngjae let out a low moaning sound, entirely faked and entirely to please Daehyun, who chuckled against his lips.

"You really did miss me, huh?" Daehyun teased, and Youngjae nodded sweetly. "I mean, if you really missed me you would let me—" Daehyun was fiddling with the button on Youngjae's pants when the younger stopped him, a mischievous smile spreading across his lips at Daehyun's frustrated expression. "I guess you were lying then." Daehyun sneered, being childish about the rejection.

"It's not that." Youngjae replied, nipping at Daehyun's ear and enjoying how he shivered underneath him. Youngjae was so sure he could win this if he played it right, it was looking to be so strongly in his favor. "I just want to do something different, if that's alright."

Daehyun gave an apprehensive nod and Youngjae connected their lips again, palming at Daehyun's crotch until he could tell he was getting impatient. That's when Youngjae pulled away, leaving a soft trail of kisses down Daehyun's jaw to his neck. His hands ran under Daehyun's shirt for a second, over the warm skin of his stomach, before pulling the shirt off and continuing his trail of kisses down Daehyun's chest. He slid off his lap and dropped to his knees once his kisses had trailed low enough, enjoying the shocked look of recognition of what he was planning that crossed Daehyun features.

"Oh my god." Daehyun mumbled, shifting awkwardly around in his seat as his pants grew too tight too quickly. Everyone had always told Youngjae that Daehyun loved blow jobs, so this was very possibly the perfect way to protect himself from harm. Already it seemed as though they were right, given how much the mere possibility of Youngjae sucking him off had gotten Daehyun excited. "Really?" His voice held his excitement.

"Master is so nice to me." Youngjae answered. "Master didn't hit me even though I've been bad, so I want to show my gratitude." He licked up the trail of fine hairs leading from Daehyun's navel into his pants and enjoyed the groan that elicited. 

"That sounds like you, conversely, will refuse to do this ever again if I punish you when you're bad." Daehyun accused, but it was half-hearted. He was to fixated on Youngjae's lips so close to his clothed dick to express any dissatisfaction with that implicature, and any more complaints quickly died in his throat when Youngjae sealed his lips over his clothed bulge, replaced by a loud, whining moan. 

Youngjae pulled off a couple seconds later, not lifting his lips off the wet denim of Daehyun's pants as he spoke. "I'm not saying for sure that I would refuse to blow you ever again if you punish me, but it's better not to test it, right?" He knew Daehyun wouldn't have the best reaction to that, so he returned to wetting the crotch of Daehyun's jeans before he could respond. Daehyun let out a high pitched whining noise. "Yeah, better not to test it." Youngjae added, smugness in his voice as he popped the button on Daehyun's jeans.

After some awkward shuffling, Daehyun's pants were around his ankles and Youngjae was sucking on the skin around his cock in hopes of prolonging it until he was ready. He hadn't really noticed how big Daehyun was before, but up close it was a little daunting to a novice like him. Daehyun's hand had already threaded through his hair, trying to drag Youngjae's mouth toward his cock. "I'll make you a deal." Youngjae teased hot breaths over his cock, watching as it twitched.

"What?" Daehyun practically groaned, bucking his hips while he tried to drag Youngjae's lips to the tip. Instead, Youngjae moved down to the base, licking a thick strip up the underside and then flickering his eyes up to meet Daehyun's.

"You can have me like this whenever you want if you don't punish me for how bad I was last week." Youngjae tried. He wished silently it was a good enough offer that Daehyun would take it. Suggesting such a thing was a good way to get his punishment doubled, but it had the possibility of stopping it and that was what was important to Youngjae at that moment. He licked over the tip, grimacing at the bitter taste of precum on his tongue.

"How about I can have you like this whenever I want and you get half the punishment you deserve for what you pulled last week." Daehyun answered, his breath in short pants as he shoved the tip against Youngjae's lips.

"A quarter." Youngjae said through his teeth, knowing the moment his mouth was open Daehyun would shove himself in all the way.

"Deal." Daehyun answered and Youngjae opened his mouth and started to take in his dick, slow and careful because he had never done it before. He made it maybe halfway before he had to pause, pumping what hadn't fit into his mouth a couple times before he pulled up again. He sucked on the head, running his tongue over the slit and trying not to show too much disgust in the bitter taste of precum before he started to move down again. Predictably, he made it farther that time, but still had to pause to calm his gag reflex before pulling up.

It took a couple more tries before his lips were running against the fine hairs at the base, and Youngjae spent a long time paused down there, gagging around the cock shoved down his throat. Daehyun wouldn't let him up, his head thrown back as he let out loud, desperate moans and groans. Tears gathered in the corners of Youngjae's eyes as he struggled to breathe, sucking in harsh pants through his nose when Daehyun finally let him up for air.

Daehyun looked down to meet his eyes and Youngjae could feel the dick in his mouth jump when their eyes locked. Daehyun held him still by the hair as he ran a finger over Youngjae's cheeks to catch one of the tears. He moaned when Youngjae's response was to hum around him, breaking free of Daehyun's harsh grip on his hair to take him down again. Once he hit the base he paused to suck roughly, doing his best to massage the underside with his tongue and hum around him. He trailed his hands up Daehyun's thighs, one to steady himself and the other to play with Daehyun's balls as he began moving up and down Daehyun's cock slowly.

"I'll make it an eighth if you let me fuck your mouth." Daehyun moaned out. Youngjae responded by resting both of his hands to Daehyun's thighs to steady himself and dropped his jaw. He waited until Daehyun met his eyes and then gave him the smallest of nods.

Never did Youngjae expect anything to be completely unpleasant, but choking around a throbbing cock repeatedly shoved down his throat was definitely not an experience he enjoyed. Daehyun was pulling on his hair to force Youngjae up and down his cock as he thrust his hips roughly, his balls slapping against Youngjae's chin every time he forced his way all the way down Youngjae's throat.

Youngjae did his best to hum while Daehyun did this because it always elicited loud groans, unknowingly humming the tune Daehyun always hummed. The entire experience was painful, especially when Daehyun started rutting instead of pulling all the way out, which left Youngjae choking with very little air in his lungs and no way of getting anymore as his throat constricted around Daehyun's cock. He found himself wondering if Daehyun knew how unpleasant this was, only to be answered when Daehyun groaned out, "Yes, oh my god. Choke on it, you little cock slut." Clearly if he was choking, it was painful, right?

Daehyun only rutted for a little while longer before he was coming hard down Youngjae's throat, continuing to rut until those hot streams of cum stopped coming. He didn't pull out even then, forcing Youngjae to continue deep throating him until he swallowed, which he only did because he was choking not only on Daehyun's dick but on the cum shot down his throat as well. Once Youngjae had swallowed, Daehyun let him pull off, a content smile on his face as he pulled Youngjae to sit on his bare lap. He was silent, which worried Youngjae just the slightest bit. "Was it okay?" He asked. His voice came out hoarse and strained, and he ended up in a coughing fit because of how much it hurt to speak. Daehyun rubbed his back noncommittally, too caught up in his post-orgasm high to offer any real comfort.

"Amazing." Daehyun answered. He scratched behind Youngjae's ear, adding a doting, "good boy." Youngjae was a bit embarrassed by how easily those words left him beaming. He both hated them and needed to hear them, because the words 'good boy' were reserved for when Daehyun was especially pleased with him.

They sat there for a long time before Daehyun was pushing Youngjae to lay down on the car seat, climbing over him with his pants still around his ankles. It was entirely unsurprising when only a couple seconds later he found himself pinned down as Daehyun smashed their lips together with renewed vigor. One of Daehyun's knees fitted itself between Youngjae's legs, his thigh rubbing at Youngjae's crotch as he started marking Youngjae's neck. "Three weeks without you." Daehyun mumbled. "All my marks have faded." He added when he came up for another breath before continuing. "How will anyone know you have a boyfriend?"

"Boyfriend?" It was an upgrade for sure. Daehyun was no longer claiming to own Youngjae, but rather that they were dating. There was chuckling in response to the excitement in his voice, and Youngjae lifted his chin so Daehyun could have better access to his neck.

Daehyun bit him, causing Youngjae to flinch and emit a pained whimper. "Boyfriend." Daehyun confirmed, contrary to his possessive actions. He squeezed Youngjae's wrist that were pinned in his and reattached his lips to Youngjae's neck to suck another hickey into the soft skin. "Don't move your hands." He instructed. Lips trailed down Youngjae's skin and roaming hands were quick to undress him. 

Youngjae's high pitched whimpers filled the car as Daehyun stroked him, his other hand groping at Youngjae's ass as he left hickeys on Youngjae's chest. He froze at the feeling of a finger between his cheeks, pressing lightly over his hole as Daehyun looked up with a hungry look in his eyes. "I'll only hit you once if you'll let me—" Youngjae cut him off.

"No!" He squirmed away a bit. Even though he had tried touching himself like that a couple times, he wasn't ready for Daehyun to do it. "I'm not ready yet." He added quickly, shutting his eyes shut and praying this was one of the times when Daehyun would listen when he said no.

"Fine." Daehyun held childish disappointment in his voice. His hands grew rougher on Youngjae's skin. Something had to be done to make Daehyun happy again.

"Master." Youngjae whined, because that was always something that pleased Daehyun. He stopped sucking hickeys and biting at Youngjae's chest in response, and a second or two later he was resting his forehead against Youngjae's. "I—" He let out a whine as Daehyun stopped everything he was doing, but he finished his statement anyway. "I just don't want to yet because it's my first time and I— I love you," he lied, "so I want it to be special."

A smile spread across Daehyun's lips. "We'll wait until it's special and you're ready, then." Daehyun answered, and Youngjae couldn't fight the relief. Ever since he met Daehyun it was like he was in a constant state of anxiety. Anything he said could get him hit, anything he did could get him locked up for days with no food or water. It was one of the reasons Youngjae's had such a hard time sleeping— he was kept up all night by the stress of it. No matter how good of a mood Daehyun was in or how sweetly he was treating him of late, Youngjae was constantly afraid. There was no guaruntee Daehyun wouldn't find something to be mad at him for, wouldn't find some excuse to hit him. If Daehyun so much as  _felt_  like he was losing control over Youngjae, he would be assualted. So little moments of relief like that were short-lived and treasured, few and far between the constant mayhem and anxiety that had become his life.

 

Rather than the traditional, ornate style of the school, the Jung's apartment in Seoul was decked out in minimalist modern decor. Youngjae was led by the hand through the large penthouse apartment and into one of what he gets was at least fifteen bedrooms. Everything inside was white or grey. He found himself standing still and waiting in worry, because at any second Daehyun could begin whatever he deemed 'one eighth of Youngjae's punishment' to be, and knowing Daehyun it would be a lot.

He could hear Daehyun moving about the room, occasionally seeing him for a brief second or two before he was out of Youngjae's line of sight again. Following Daehyun with his eyes was out of the question. Anything but standing still and waiting was out of the question. Every second felt too long, nerve wracking as he waited for anything from Daehyun.

"Phone." Daehyun appeared in front of him, making him jump. He held out his hand and Youngjae was quick to fish his phone out of his pocket and hand it over. Daehyun stood there, going through Youngjae's text conversations for a couple minutes. They were facing each other, but Youngjae leaned forward to lean his forehead against Daehyun's shoulder anyway, his hands balled up in his shirt as he waited. After about a minute, Daehyun gave in and wrapped one of his arms around Youngjae, tucked his chin over Youngjae's shoulder, and stroked his back absent-mindedly as he hummed and continued going through his phone. "Zelo's texted you quite a lot since the incident." Daehyun remarked.

"I haven't been reading them." Youngjae answered. His phone buzzed.

"That was him now. Hm," Daehyun hummed. "He wants to press charges over Jaehyun and I punching him, but on the bright side he seems to recognize that I have lawyers that would crush him. He also thinks it's you that just read all of these and that that's a sign of forgiveness. What should I tell him, baby?" Daehyun was clearly only acting this way to foster Youngjae's newfound hatred for his former friend, who he for some reason still viewed as his rival for Youngjae's affections.

"Tell him to leave me alone, please." He answered, pain evident in his voice. Zelo had been his only real friend for most of his life, and what happened had all but yielded heart break from Youngjae. Losing a best friend could be just as painful as a breakup, couldn't it?

Youngjae's phone buzzed a few more times, but Daehyun no longer conferred with Youngjae on how he should answer the messages. He just stood there and waited for Daehyun to be done combing through everything for any signs that Youngjae had further misbehaved. "Alright, he should never talk to you again now, baby." Daehyun cooed. "Don't worry, I'm here to fix things like always. I also sent an apology text to your parents since you didn't tell them you were leaving before I came to get you."

"Thank you." Youngjae mumbled into his shoulder.

"You'll pay me back later for how good I am to you." Daehyun answered, the hand stroking Youngjae's back stopping to instead squeeze his ass. "For now, I think it's about time we get this punishment out of the way, huh? I'll go extra easy on you because you only did it because you love me and you're too stupid to know that I feel the same. Let me hear you say it."

"I love you." Youngjae lied, although it was a lot easier than when he said those words at the beginning of the year. Lies came naturally now.

"Good boy." Daehyun praised. "Pants down, bend over that desk over there." He ordered next. Youngjae was scared to comply, but he reminded himself Daehyun said they would wait until he was ready. Even then, he didn't know how many lashes or spanks Daehyun planned on giving him. Perspective-wise, had this really been worse than talking to the staff for three months? And his punishment had been lowered, severely, too. That was what Youngjae used to motivate himself to do as he was told, trying not to wince too much when he heard the clinking of Daehyun's belt.

Daehyun whipped him ten times, only ten times, and spanked him ten more. By the end Youngjae was crying, his ass red and sore. He wanted nothing more than for it to be over, but Daehyun didn't seem particularly in the mood to beat him either. "Let me make myself clear." Daehyun said when he had finished. "If you ever,  _ever_  break the rules again, I will not go easy on you. From now on, breaking the rules is a death sentence, Youngjae. I've been too nice to you for too long. I'm going easy on you now because I know you're clueless when I'm not there to care for you, but I won't be so kind ever again. Do you understand, or do I need to beat that knowledge into you?"

"I understand." Youngjae answered, trying to blink away the tears in his eyes.

"Good." Daehyun's voice was cold. "You aren't allowed to leave this room until break is over. I may visit you, I may not. The staff come in you are to ignore them. Do not so much as look at them. Pretend to be asleep whenever they enter, if you can. I will keep your phone with me, and I will let you call your parents once. I will decide when it is appropriate. Does that sound fair to you? Because if not, my family does have a lovely storage locker in the basement I wouldn't mind throwing you in."

"That's more than fair." Youngjae answered.

"Thank me." Daehyun ordered.

"Thank you so much, Daehyun." He did not know what he was thanking Daehyun for but he did not dare disobey. He probably felt entitled to gratitude because he hadn't tried to kill Youngjae or to lock him in a literal locker.

"Tell me you love me."

"I love you." The lie came so easily Youngjae thought there was no way anyone would be able to tell it wasn't the truth.

"Very well then." Daehyun pulled away, letting Youngjae stand up and pull his pants back over his stinging ass. "If you behave perfectly this week, I might consider giving you the Christmas present I promised. You found the note, didn't you?"

Youngjae turned, walking his fingers up Daehyun's chest over where his heart would be. "I did." He answered softly.

"And you still want it?" Daehyun held his hand over Youngjae's flat against his chest.

"Of course." 

Daehyun leaned in to kiss him gently and Youngjae felt relief rush through him. His punishment must have been over then, if Daehyun was treating him sweetly once more. Soft humming briefly filled the room, broken only when Daehyun decided he wanted something. "On your knees." He ordered. When Youngjae dropped down, he smiled. "Now this is the prettiest I've seen you yet. You should just always be on your knees like this, mouth open for me to use. That's all you're good for, isn't it? Say it, baby."

"This is all I'm good for." Youngjae repeated. He kept his eyes locked with Daehyun's, dropped his jaw, and waited.

 


	16. Chapter 16

Daehyun was nearly to the door when Youngjae managed to find his voice. It was hoarse and cracking after the week of abuse, but Youngjae was going to put his foot down now that Daehyun's anger seemed to have melted away. "You're really just leaving again?" He demanded. His voice cracked, but not from upset. A coughing fit took over and he thought he might throw up what he had just swallowed down.

This was all Daehyun came in for. They had been in Daehyun's Seoul apartment for a week, but Daehyun ignored him outside of the five to ten times a day he would come in for a blow job. He rarely said anything besides asserting it was all Youngjae was good for. Consent was rarely even asked for anymore, not that Youngjae wasn't giving it because he was more than willing to suck Daehyun off. He just wished it would be something more than Daehyun walking in, pushing him to his knees, and fucking his mouth. He always left after. Youngjae didn't like that.

"Why wouldn't I?" Daehyun answered. His voice was cold and distant, but Youngjae was convinced he still cared.

"You want me to like you, don't you?" He answered. Youngjae picked himself up to stand, crossing his arms. He pulled a hard expression when Daehyun turned to face him. He looked confused.

"You said you loved me." Daehyun answered. "Were you lying?" His lips stretched thin for a moment. He seemed shaky and nervous. It was still so important to him that Youngjae like him. Had Youngjae been lying about loving him? Daehyun had believed him; it would break his heart if it hadn't been the truth. Youngjae was just so much easier to control when he was supposedly in love, Daehyun couldn't let that feeling be false.

"I can fall out of love much easier than I fell into it." Youngjae threatened, though he disguised it as a soft, heartbroken warning. He didn't love Daehyun, of course, he wasn't capable of that. How could you love someone that regularly treats you like shit? That hits you? That tries to make you hate yourself? Youngjae didn't think a person like that deserved love, much less that he could actually give it to them. No, he did not love Daehyun, but he had said it to save himself. When he did, He had lost a strategic advantage he had: Daehyun's desire for his love. But recently Youngjae had realized how to gain that advantage back. He watched as the panic crossed Daehyun's face. Terror. Youngjae could stop loving him? Fear.

"Do you hate me then?" Daehyun asked. "Was it so easy to destroy your love for me?" He was still trying to sound cold, but he was quickly losing his ability to act like he didn't care. It was too late. Youngjae already knew.

"Not yet." Youngjae dropped his crossed arms and ran a hand through his hair as he looked away. "But I might." His voice carried faked hurt, which Daehyun all too easily fell for. Daehyun viewed Youngjae's love as an advantage because he did not know it was false, and so losing it could ruin the advantage he perceived having. "I feel like I'm falling out of love every time you leave." It hurt. Not necessarily because Youngjae wanted to be with Daehyun, but because that kind of social rejection always hurt. Being ignored hurts, regardless of by who. Being used for sexual favors and then thrown away once Daehyun was satisfied hurt because he didn't have anyone else— Youngjae was always alone. He got to call his family two days before, but that only reminded him of how much he craved positive human contact. Anything, even if it was with someone who revolted him like Daehyun.

"Youngjae—" Daehyun sighed, but he wasn't done yet. Youngjae needed to make a big enough deal about this that Daehyun would actually consider doing what Youngjae wanted.

"You know I'm only willing to give head because I love you, right? Even if you don't care if I love you, even if you don't love me, that should at least matter, right? It feels like that's all you care about, and I'm telling you I won't do it anymore if that's all you want me for. I don't want to suck you off if you don't love me." He knew those were dangerous words, but he couldn't take it anymore. He needed attention.

Daehyun walked towards him, cupping Youngjae's cheeks and kissed his forehead. It was the first interaction he had had with anyone in a week besides sucking him off and that felt good. Even if it was belittling and just to shut him up, it felt good. "You know I love you, baby." Daehyun cooed.

"Are you just saying that so you can leave? So you can come back later and have my mouth on your dick without a fuss?"

"Of course not." Daehyun kept with that belittling tone. He treated Youngjae like a fussy child and Youngjae only didn't object because it was something and it was something that felt good in comparison to the nothing the past week had been. He was not strong enough for social isolation. Daehyun's attention seemed to be fixated on him now, determined to regain the advantage Youngjae had told him he was losing. "How do I prove I still love you?" Daehyun asked.

Youngjae had never expected it to be so easy. "Stay, please." He faked desperation with his face twisted in false sadness. "Just this once, stay with me. I don't want to be alone anymore."

A sick smile spread across Daehyun's face and he knew he had just pushed himself into whatever trap this social isolation had been. Daehyun wanted him to beg for him to stay. "Well, now you know how I felt, don't you?" Daehyun answered. His hands trailed down from Youngjae's cheeks to run over his jaw and then his neck, and his voice had adopted the tone it normally had when Daehyun was planning on hurting him. Youngjae flinched, eyes shut tight as he waited. "Now you know how I felt when you stopped talking to me, and you see how nice I was for how little I punished you. Don't you think you deserve more of a punishment, Youngjae?"

It was a trick question and Youngjae knew it. If he said yes, he got beat up. If he said no, he got beat up. Either way he would be hurt. A course of action, though, quickly became apparent. "I guess so, but you said you wouldn't hit me anymore. You said if I fell in love with you, you would be the model boyfriend."

"Why would I say that?" Daehyun's lips thinned, eye brows furrowing as his hands settled on Youngjae's neck. There was a light pressure, making Youngjae's heart pound in fear, but Daehyun did not try to squeeze all the air out of him yet. He was holding back, as if what Youngjae was about to say would actually change his mind about hurting him. Youngjae prayed it was more than just an act, that veiled threats would be enough to save him form Daehyun's anger. He was never really going to be safe, was he? There would always be something to be angry about, something to hit him over.

"Because I don't like boys that hit me," Youngjae answered. "I don't like boys that lock me in a room on my own until I feel like dying just to prove a point. I don't like boys that don't like me. And I definitely don't fuck around with boys I don't like." He flinched as those hands tightened on his throat for a brief second before they were loose again, rubbing at the skin as if to pretend Daehyun hadn't just lost control of his barely stifled anger.

"Well, then, we've reached an impasse." Daehyun said. "I want you to like me, Youngjae. I really, really love you and I want to help you feel the same. But if you're bad, if you break the rules, then I have to punish you. You know that. Otherwise, what will stop you from breaking them? I make these rules to protect you. You saw what happened both times you've broken them. First those nasty staff hurt you, beat you, and god knows what they would have done if I hadn't come in when I had! The way they had you bent over the table it was almost like— well, let's not think about it. And then, recently with Zelo. You're still so hurt after what he did to you. But you don't seem to learn, it's like you don't realize it's for your protection! So, if you break the rules, I need to punish you, so that you learn and don't put yourself at risk like that."

Youngjae didn't know how to respond to that illogical rant, but he knew the hands on his neck were an immediate threat. At the moment, one wrong word and Daehyun could choke him to death. Compliance, agreement, and submission were normally his strategy to get out of situations like this, so he went with that default. He let out a short fake sigh and nodded. "I know. You're right." He answered, and immediately after he took the step forward that closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around Daehyun's shoulders. Daehyun's response of dropping his arms into normal hugging position was instant, and he started petting Youngjae's hair when he buried his face in his shoulder.

"I bet you didn't mean any of that, did you?" Daehyun's tone was forceful and so Youngjae shook his head. "You were just so lonely, right? You'd say anything to make me stay?" Youngjae nodded. Daehyun's arms were too tight around him. His hand was on the back of Youngjae's neck, threatening to turn and wrap around the front at anytime to choke Youngjae into compliance. He had hoped this conversation would be a power grab for him, but instead it had turned into a situation in which Daehyun was threatening his life. His options were to do as Daehyun wanted, to submit, or to be beaten and possibly killed.

"I just missed you." Youngjae lied, soft and sweet. He added a sniffle or two for effect and balled up his hands into Daehyun's shirt. Then there was humming and Youngjae let the relaxation that caused flow through him. Daehyun didn't hurt him after humming unless he was drunk. He was smarter then to risk destroying his conditioning like that.

"I can stay with you for a bit." Daehyun answered. "You know I don't like punishing you, don't you?" Youngjae nodded despite being sure Daehyun took some sick satisfaction in his pain. "Let's have this be the end of it, okay? No more breaking the rules. This term could be a fresh start." Daehyun hummed for a little while longer, that hand on the back of Youngjae's neck even worked it's way up to play with his hair as Daehyun put on his fake comforting facade. Youngjae knew that meant Daehyun was scared Youngjae was starting to dislike him, knew that little seed he had weaved in had worked in his favor. "Hm, maybe I'm going about this the wrong way. Maybe instead of punishing you once you've broken the rules, I should try to stop you from breaking them in the first place."

Youngjae wanted to jump on that idea. He had no clue what 'stopping him from breaking them in the first place' meant, but it could easily be one of two things. Either he could get Daehyun to let him have one or two friends to talk to, people like Min that he trusted, or it could mean Daehyun planned on locking him in his room so Youngjae had no contact with anyone. Either way it meant not getting beaten up anymore, and if Youngjae played his cards right he could improve his situation greatly. "I only ever break them because I'm lonely." Youngjae replied, trying to lead Daehyun in the direction of letting him have friends.

"What do you mean?" Daehyun asked. He pulled away from the hug then to watch Youngjae as he spoke. That almost made Youngjae feel better because monitoring Daehyun's facial expression was a good way of measuring how likely he was to get hit for what he was saying.

"Well, just," Youngjae pouted as he tried to find a way to make what he was saying make sense. "Well, with the staff, right? You were always out with friends and so I was always alone. I got lonely and I missed you a lot, but I didn't want to make you miss time with your friends, so I didn't know what to do. Then the staff started talking to me and I didn't want to talk to them but I was just so lonely that I did." Daehyun's eyebrows furrowed but he seemed to accept it.

"But why did you stop talking to me?" Daehyun asked.

Youngjae took a couple of seconds to come up with an excuse. He faked being upset for that time. "I just— You weren't there!" He accused, letting the fake upset he had run up before carry into his words to make them sound more real. "I mean, yeah we were texting and sometimes we would talk on the phone, but you weren't there with me. And then I got scared about loving you and you not feeling the same way and— I just intended to taper off until I was sure of my feelings but then— Zelo was there with me and Jongup was there with me and I was lonely because I wasn't talking to you and it just escalated."

Daehyun hummed, watching as Youngjae's fake tears faded away to little sniffles. "Then let's make sure you aren't lonely again." He said, "if you'll stop breaking the rules the moment we fix that one thing, then we'll have solved our problem, won't we?" Daehyun bit his lip.

"Yeah." Youngjae answered. "Honestly, maybe just letting me talk to Min or—" Youngjae was quickly cut off so quickly to his goal.

"Absolutely not." Daehyun answered. He turned away as he said it, going to lay propped up on the bed, hands behind his head. "She's just like Zelo, baby." He said as he went. "She wants to have you in her pocket so she can break up with Suzy and throw all the blame on you. She'll try to get you to leave me for her."

"But I'm gay." Youngjae answered. "I don't like girls at all." He thought that would be enough to convince Daehyun, but he didn't seem to care.

"It's not you I'm worried about. It's her." Daehyun answered, motioning Youngjae forward with two fingers like he was a dog. "Come reward me for how good I am to you while I think of something better." Youngjae gulped but crawled onto the bed. He settled onto Daehyun's lap and laid across his torso, beginning by sucking hickeys on his neck while running his fingers over his chest and arms— a surefire way of getting Daehyun hard quickly. Daehyun seemed to sense Youngjae's dissatisfaction with his answer. "Listen, you know you're bad at reading people, so I'll explain how important it is that you avoid her. She's trying to break up with Suzy, right? But that isn't her right, and so if she does it will make her the target. The only way to avoid that is to find scapegoat and say they made her break up with Suzy and they courted her when she was with someone else. So, she's using you. The whole school hates you, so it'll be easy. If I let you talk to her, she'll try to trick you into her evil plan so that she can get away from Suzy and put all the blame on you. I bet she's even made passes at you already."

Youngjae hesitated for a second, thinking back to the party when Min made him promise that if they both broke up with their owners, they would get together. And then, again, to when she visited, saying he should leave Daehyun for her and kissing his cheek. He didn't want to believe it, but after Zelo his trust was shattered. If Zelo had faked friendship for over a decade just trying to get into his pants, then what made Min any different? "Something is starting to make sense, now, isn't it?" Daehyun asked darkly. "Did something happen, Youngjae?"

Youngjae pulled away from him, sitting back on his feet and looking down at his hands. Daehyun was going to beat him for sure when he found out. "O-Over break she came over." He said. Daehyun raised his eyebrows and waited. "You said to try to keep her from breaking up with Suzy and she showed up saying she couldn't take it anymore. So, I invited her in to try to convince her otherwise, and we talked for a bit. It seemed normal and I thought I had convinced her to stay with Suzy, but when she left she—" He closed his eyes, sucking in a harsh breath. He was so afraid of what Daehyun would do to him, given the thin line he was walking on. "She kissed my cheek." When Daehyun reached out to touch him, Youngjae flinched.

"Poor baby, that must have been so traumatic." Daehyun cooed, pulling Youngjae to his chest. "Everyone's always trying to kiss you and touch you against your will, aren't they?" Youngjae nodded, that did seem to be the trend. Daehyun, surprisingly, was the only one who seemed to stop when asked to. Everyone else was always touching him without consent. "Hm, so I'll have to find a way to protect you from evil people like that without letting you get lonely, huh?" He kissed Youngjae's cheek sweetly, but a second later he was tapping Youngjae's shoulder and returning to having his hands behind his head, a sign he wanted Youngjae to continue what he was doing before.

Youngjae was quick to seal his mouth around Daehyun's cock. He had learned the older wasn't a big fan of teasing. Daehyun's speech was interrupted my occasional groans and moans, but otherwise it was like Youngjae wasn't even there. "I can't just pick someone I trust and let you hang out with them when I'm gone." Daehyun said between pleased sounds, petting Youngjae's head with one hand. "Everyone is out to hurt you, after all. Mm, but I still want to see my friends and we both have class. I guess I could walk you to each of your classes so that you're with me during your breaks, and I guess you can come with me when I go out with friends sometimes but—" Daehyun paused to let out a loud moan when Youngjae traded sucking on his dick for sucking on his balls. "Keep that up for a bit." He ordered, shifting his hips around. "I don't think you'd like being out with people, would you? But I don't want to risk you being alone and the staff coming in."

He paused to pull Youngjae back up to kiss him, flipping them over so he was on top and working Youngjae out of his clothes. Daehyun waited until Youngjae was hard and needy before he acted, puffing hot breaths into Youngjae's ear as he spoke. "Why don't you let me go a little further, baby? Not sex, just a little more. I promise it'll feel good."

To be honest, Youngjae had tried fingering himself enough times that he thought it felt pretty good, but he wasn't sure if he was ready for Daehyun to touch him like that yet. "I-I don't know." He answered.

"Please, Youngjae. See? It means something to me— I don't say that word often." Daehyun told him, halting his movements so that Youngjae would whine.

He reached up for Daehyun and pulled him into a short kiss. "Give me a bit to decide." He begged. "Just a little while, so I don't accidentally say I'm ready when I'm not." Daehyun seemed to take it, going back to pumping the both of them and pulling Youngjae by the hair to kiss his neck again.

"Oh, I know." Daehyun said. "So, I'll spend every moment of school that I can with you, and when I go out with friends I'll make sure the door to your room is locked and that you have your phone to text me with. That'll fix it, won't it? Hm, but Zelo still tries to text you a lot. How about I restrict your phone so that only I and your family can talk to you? Then he won't be able to bother you anymore."

Youngjae responded with a loud moan and Daehyun's hand sped up until they were both coming. White splattered all over Youngjae's stomach and chest. "You're always so pretty when you're covered in my cum." Daehyun remarked.

"But it feels gross." Youngjae whined. "I want a shower."

"Not without me." Daehyun's voice was teasing, but Youngjae wasn't sure if he was serious or not. It would not be the clingiest or the creepiest thing Daehyun had done. "Just kidding." Daehyun added after a second, pecking Youngjae's nose. "I think it's about time for me to go anyway."

"No!" Youngjae really didn't want to be alone. Every day for the past week he had been used liked this, to get Daehyun off and then left alone again. He couldn't stand it anymore. He didn't care what he had to do to get Daehyun to stay, so long as it meant he got cuddled and taken care of afterwards, he would do anything to make Daehyun stay. He would do anything for some lasting human contact.

"No?" Daehyun asked. His voice was slow and threatening, reminding Youngjae of his place.

"I want you to stay." Youngjae answered. "Come shower with me and we can cuddle after." He tried to make it sound like this was something he was offering to Daehyun, because that was the best way to make sure Daehyun agreed to it. He hated the way Daehyun perked up at that, how excited he seemed to be that Youngjae would allow him that.

He had expected showering together to be more awkward. Since his first day with Daehyun he had imagined Daehyun coming into the shower while Youngjae in there and starting up some sexual act. At first the thought had scared and revolted him, but lately it had been used to fuel fantasies while he was touching himself. It didn't seem like Daehyun was expecting much, but then again he was always surprised when it was Youngjae initiating something sexual. Regardless, the moment they were under the hot spray of the shower, Youngjae was kissing him. Daehyun kissed him the way Youngjae liked: slow, gentle and attentive to the smallest of sensations.

Daehyun ran his fingers over his skin, his fingers drawing goosebumps in their wake despite the hot steam of the shower. His hands settled on Youngjae's ass, and for once they were not unwelcome as the kneaded at the firm flesh. Daehyun pulled off from the kiss, sucking on the sweet spot behind Youngjae's ear which elicited wanton moans. Youngjae nearly collapsed in his arms, that spot made him weak in the knees. "Have you had enough time to think about it?" Daehyun asked. "Why don't you let me make you feel really good, and then I'll let you make me feel really good, okay? Then we can get all cleaned up together and go relax. How does that sound?"

"Please be gentle." Youngjae replied. Daehyun chuckled against him, kissing that spot again and moving his arms up so he could squeeze Youngjae tightly. He moaned loudly in response.

"I don't think you really mean that." Daehyun said. "You don't want to say it, but you like being treated a little rough." He roughly squeezed at Youngjae's ass, relishing in the moan that elicited. "Turn around and bend over. Hands on the wall." He ordered. Youngjae was quick to do as he was told, although he was embarrassed by how exposed he felt. No one had ever seen him like this, and as much as he had fantasized about this, it happening in real life made it much more embarrassing. Fingers ran over his ass before pulling away, and a second later a soft spank hit his skin. "You look sexy like this." Daehyun told him. "It's like you were made to be covered in cum and fucked in every way possible."

Somehow, Youngjae took that as a compliment. Daehyun started just by stroking Youngjae's cock, waiting until Youngjae was hard and distracted to press his first finger up against Youngjae's hole. He was making those soft, wanton whimpering noises just like he had in the video, but Daehyun found them so much more enticing in real life. He still had it, ready to use if Youngjae ever got too disobedient. Carefully, he slipped the first finger in. He was careful about moving it about, slowing his hand on Youngjae's cock as he did so.

"See? It doesn't hurt that much, does it?" Daehyun teased. He curled his finger inside Youngjae, letting his nail scrape up against the fleshy walls before he started pumping his finger in and out. When Youngjae started pushing back on it, he added a second. Quickening his hand on Youngjae's cock, Daehyun tried to distract him from the slight sting that had him hissing. Seconds later he was back to those soft whimpers, though, and Daehyun bent over his body to suck on that sweet spot behind his ear again. Youngjae's head was bent at and odd angle to allow that, but given the way he was trembling, he didn't seem to mind. Gentle fingers stretched him out, scissoring and curling as Youngjae whimpered and moaned above him.

"M-More, Master, please." Youngjae's voice was desperate and whining, and Daehyun started moving his hands faster in response. He loved how Youngjae called him master and loved how he begged. Daehyun could think of nothing sexier than such submissive acts. After half a minute he added a third finger, shoving all three inside and pausing to let Youngjae adjust for just a second. Youngjae pushed back on his fingers, letting out soft keens as Daehyun's fingers started pumping inside him.

"Look at you." Daehyun purred as he pumped the three fingers in and out of Youngjae's ass. He stopped stroking him in favor of using his free hand to pull one of Youngjae's ass cheeks to the side for a better view. "You're taking this so well, baby. So sexy. Mm, I can't wait to see how you'll take my cock, but, we're saving that for later, aren't we? Still, you're taking this so well. Good boy." He cooed. A loud moan ripped through Youngjae so suddenly that Daehyun thought he had hit his prostate, but hitting the same point had no results. "Do you like it when I call you a good boy, Youngjae?" He asked.

Youngjae let out a nod, pushing his hips back and whimpering when Daehyun nipped at his earlobe. Daehyun chuckled against him. He played with Youngjae's ass cheek as he pumped his fingers in and out, looking for that one spot that would make Youngjae scream. He had heard it once, but he wanted to see the live version, which was infinitely sexier.

A couple seconds later, Youngjae was letting out a choked, strangled moan, his back arching with Daehyun's fingers deep inside him. Daehyun was quick to press his fingers harder into that spot as he watched Youngjae writhe below him. Youngjae's skin had flushed to a bright pink and his eyes bulged as both his hands curled into fists against the cool shower wall. "Ma— Master—" Youngjae moaned out. This was everything he had ever fantasized about to a perfect degree. Every detail was perfect and it felt so good he might collapse.

"What a good boy," Daehyun teased, "moaning so loudly the neighbors can probably hear. It's too much, isn't it? But I bet you don't want me to stop either." Youngjae whimpered, pressing back on those fingers digging into his prostate.

"Dae— Master, please—" Youngjae whimpered. Just as Daehyun had seen in the video, he pulled his fingers out halfway and then shoved them back in roughly against that spot. "Master!" Youngjae cried out, loud and desperate.

"Mm, as much as I love you calling me master, baby," Daehyun cooed as he continued to assault that spot with his fingers, starting to stroke Youngjae's dick again as he did, "I'd much rather hear you screaming my name." He whispered in his ear, kissing the shell of it before he pulled away. He had to repress a laugh at how Youngjae crumbled onto the floor, whining out his name in desperation. "Back against the wall." He ordered; he had never seen Youngjae so quick to comply before. His legs were spread already for Daehyun to fit himself between and his head was tilted back against the wall so Daehyun could nip at his necks at his hands resumed their work.

Daehyun pressed Youngjae against the shower wall as he rubbed their hips together, one hand pumping the both of them while the other resumed it's work inside Youngjae. The younger became so quickly undone that he was reduced to moaning garbled, unintelligible messes of Daehyun's name until he came hard and all over himself.

He pulled Youngjae under the hot spray then, using one arm to hold him up and handing him the soap with the other, "Wash yourself off, baby. We can go cuddle after you're clean." Youngjae could feel Daehyun's hardness pressing against his backside and could already guess as he washed off his chest and stomach that Daehyun was expecting head for how hard he had just made Youngjae cum. Oddly enough, Youngjae really wanted it. And not just to blow him, Youngjae wanted to be shoved around and used like a toy. After how good Daehyun had just made things feel with absolutely no pleasure for himself, Youngjae really wanted to return the favor.

"Daehyun, I want something." He whined softly.

"If it's my heart then you already have it." Daehyun teased in response.

"No, no, I, um, it's something else." He said. Daehyun turned him in his arms and Youngjae took a couple seconds to get lost in the kiss pressed into his lips. After how hard he had came, he didn't think he could get hard again, but his face still blushed a soft pink at the heated kiss. "I-I want you to shove me to my knees and use my mouth like a toy." He mumbled without thinking, but the moment he realized what he said his face burned bright red. He could feel Daehyun's dick jump against his abdomen.

"I'm going to need you to elaborate." Daehyun growled out. "If nothing else than because you sound sexy as fuck when you talk about getting your mouth fucked. Tell me exactly what you want, Youngjae. You know I'll give you anything you ask for."

Youngjae gulped, his face burning as he answered. But he wasn't lying, for once. He was listing exactly what he really wanted, because what he wanted was to make Daehyun so happy with him that he would do what he just did to him over and over again. "I want you to shove me down and shove your cock so far down my throat that I choke on it. Don't take it slow and wait for me to adjust like you normally do, just fuck my mouth while I choke on you. Pull my hair. Push me around. Treat me like a toy. It's all I'm good for, so use me. Just, please, I'm begging, don't leave when you're done this time. I might die if you do."

"Anything you want." Daehyun promised with a smile.

 

Daehyun had Youngjae pinned to the couch in their dorm as they kissed. The two had gotten back to school less than an hour ago, but as they had been for the passed couple of days, they were two concerned with making out to really do anything else. It was mutual, because Daehyun had convinced Youngjae that it was all he was good for and Youngjae was quietly sure it was one of the few things Daehyun was good for as well. So, most of their time was spent avoiding possibly argument-sparking things like words and, rather, focused on something they could agree on, making out. Youngjae was even in he midst of arguing with himself on whether or not he wanted to start having sex with Daehyun, because everything felt so good that he didn’t see a good reason to continue postponing it.

The fact that he was pined to the couch no longer bothered him. Daehyun wouldn’t push him passed what he was comfortable with, so the fact that his hands had been pushed down and held was of little consequence. Daehyun was rolling their hips together as they kissed and Youngjae decided that even that was a pleasant feeling.

There was a knock at the door to the den they were in. Luckily it came before they started shedding clothing because both found it hard to stop once they had reached that point. “What do you want?” Daehyun snapped at whichever staff member happened to be knocking on the door.

“One of your friends is here, Mr. Jung.” The staff member replied in a small, scared voice. They seemed to have learned to fear Daehyun when he was angry, since he was more than willing to fire anyone that annoyed him.

Daehyun gave an apologetic look to Youngjae, pecking his nose gently, before sitting up and calling out, “send them in.” The door was opened to reveal one of the maids with Suzy standing behind her, a knowing smirk crossing her face at the position Daehyun and Youngjae were quickly pulling out of. Youngjae was still laying down on the couch, with Daehyun sitting back on his feet in between Youngjae’s spread legs. “Suzy,” Daehyun offered an annoyed smile, although she did not seem to take any offense from it as she stepped into the room and settled on one of the armchairs across from them. “How was break?” He asked.

“Well enough.” She answered. “I’ll trust yours was the same?”

Youngjae went to sit up but Daehyun pushed his chest back down. He stood up, side stepping so that he was by Youngjae’s head and forcibly shifting him around until Youngjae was resting with his head on Daehyun’s lap. “It was well enough as well. Jihyun threw her phone down the stairs so that Father would buy her a new one and Hyuna convinced Mother that she was ill for three days straight.”

“And you, Youngjae?” Suzy asked.

“He’s lost his voice.” Daehyun lied. “Too much screaming.” He winked after he said it and Suzy giggled. “It would be better if everyone were to avoid speaking with him anyway. It seems the incident with Hayoung caused more harm than originally thought.”

“She’s having her classes recorded for her.” Suzy replied. “He won’t have to worry about seeing her for at least the first month of school. I’ve heard she’s holed herself up in her family’s second home in California and that she plans on staying until midterms begin. But I believe she has to take stats this semester, and Mr. Lee prefers monthly tests to midterms, does he not?”

“He does, so she’ll have to show her face or transfer by the end of January.” Daehyun said. He looked down at Youngjae for a moment, adding on a sweet, “don’t worry, baby. Regardless of if she shows up or not, I’ll make certain she stays far away from you.”

“So sweet.” Suzy cooed, fakeness heavy in her voice. “I trust all the problems you’ve faced at the beginning of the school year have been resolved then?” Daehyun nodded. “If only Min and I could be so blessed as to be the same.” She sighed, sitting back on the arm chair and crossing her legs and arms. Daehyun had expected her to come to spread the regular gossip he wuld need to know in order to continue running the school in the effective manner he currently was, but at the same time it was unsurprising to both he and Youngjae that she was there to complain about Min as well. It seemed that despite the sum of their efforts, Min and Suzy were still very much on the edge of splitting apart. The only promise that could be made in regards to their relationship was that if it ended it would be messy.

“Has she not seen reason, then?” Daehyun asked. Suzy seemed reluctant for a moment. “Aw, come on now, Suzy. Your amongst friends. You can trust me.”

“She dyed her hair pink!” Suzy nearly screamed in exasperation, sitting back up on the chair. The loud noise made Youngjae jump in shock, which brought out chuckles from Daehyun who began stroking his hair. “After I specifically asked her not to do it, she went out and bought herself some cheap ass bleach and some cheap ass dye with the money I gave her for Christmas and she did the one thing I asked her not to do! Why does she need to stand out so much? Girls at our school have brown or black hair and wear blouses with skirts. That’s the way it goes– it’s vital that we look presentable and professional! How am I supposed to bring her anywhere now? She looks like a druggy!”

“It doesn’t have to be the end of the world.” Daehyun answered. “Just make her dye her hair back and make it clear that kind of behavior won’t be tolerated.”

“And what will I do to enforce that kind of ultimatum?” Suzy asked with frustration. “Threaten to break up with her? She’d love that. She’s actively trying to antagonize me into breaking up with her, I’m sure of it!”

Daehyun let out a frustrated sigh, clearly not waning to be involved in the melodrama that Suzy and Min’s relationship had become. “You can always end it with her. As I remember, you only liked her for the complete and utter control you would supposedly have over her. If she isn’t giving you what you want, you can just break up with her. I’ll even name her as the target for you, since I’m still so far ahead that I don’t really need just cause to name a target.” He shrugged. “I can do whatever I want, Suzy. So, if you want me to make her the target to teach her a lesson, I will.”

Youngjae’s eyes went wide and he wanted to scream at Daehyun not to do it. Even if the were only talking in the hypothetical, he couldn’t let his friend become the target. When he had gotten to the school, Min had told him she had never been the target before because she had joined the school at such a young age that she was essentially a fixture of her grade. He barely survived being the target and he was still suffering from the immense amount of trauma it had caused him, he could barely stand it happening to Hayoung, much less his only friend at school! Well, given recent events with Zelo, probably his only friend at all. He wanted to protest then, but Daehyun hand had warningly squeezed his arm, telling him to keep his opinion to himself until Suzy was gone. Surely he could just blow Daehyun or something to protect Min, right? Daehyun had mentioned that he could do that before, hadn’t he? Youngjae knew he needed to protect Min, to protect anyone from going through what he had gone through. The target system was sick, and Youngjae didn’t think Daehyun realized how much damage it could cause a person.

“Thanks,” Suzy smiled a little, slumping back down in her chair. “Although, actually, that won’t work anymore. Your days of unquestionable power seem to be over.”

“What do you mean? No one is anywhere near my level of wealth. I’m untouchable.” Daehyun replied.

“Himchan’s father has been making some sneaky alliances, and most recently has acquired several companies from Israel, the States, and a couple form Europe and Japan. As of yesterday when the final deal went through, they have a monopoly in their field. Daehyun, I hate to say this, but Himchan is literally right below you now.”

“What?” Daehyun screamed, and Youngjae on his lap flinched. “Is Yongguk’s inheritance enough to make them equal to me?”

“His old inheritance and shares wouldn’t have been, but there seems to have been a renegotiation. Since the Kims has gained money, Himchan’s father was willing to let Yongguk renegotiate with his siblings. The Bang’s oldest daughter desired renegotiation as well now that she’s expecting.”

“So she’s having a child with that low-blood she married? Goodness, it’s amazing her family doesn’t pretend she doesn’t exist. But the middle child, he wouldn’t let the renegotiate, right? He went after Jeon Hyosung from his year, and she demanded that he be on par with her as far as wealth goes since she would not be inheriting her company. Certainly Mr. Bang would not jeopardize a strategic alliance with the Jeons over such nothing, right?” Daehyun seemed frazzled, although Youngjae was struggling to see why. Hopefully he could get Daehyun to explain once Suzy left.

“Their son has been proven unsuitable to be the next CEO.” Suzy answered. “I couldn’t get any more information than that, but it seems like the family has left him broke and cut ties with him. They want the middle Bang child and Hyosung married and training to run the company together as soon as possible, and suggested that he find a way to lower his involvement in the Bang’s company to at least less than half. They said that ideally they would return to splitting the shares and inheritance equally, and that’s what the middle Bang child suggested to his siblings and parents. From what Himchan told me, his family instantly approved because it raised their combined power unquestionably above yours, and the oldest Bang child approved because it would assure a good future for her child.”

Daehyun let out a loud noise of frustration, pushing Youngjae lightly to sit up on his own. Once Youngjae’s head was no longer on his lap, Daehyun buried his face in his hands.

“I’m sorry,” Suzy told him. “Since the system operates on combined power, you’ve been usurped. At least until the graduate in May, Himchan runs this place now.”

“I’m fucked. I’m fucked. I’m so fucking fucked!” Daehyun grumbled to himself, rubbing his hands over his eyes. “Am I irrelevant then? Or is it only by a narrow margin?”

“It’s relatively narrow.” She answered. “Most things will still be your business, you’ll just need to consult them before acting. You still have control over the Hayoung situation though, that’s yours. You had just reason to call her out and it happened while you still had power, so they can’t change anything no matter how much Sunggyu begs. He’ll be here soon enough though, he is determined to free her so he can have her for himself.”

“Is Himchan planning anything?” Daehyun asked. “I’ve been good to him I think, so in theory he shouldn’t fuck me over, right?” Youngjae couldn’t quite understand what was going on, but in theory he could assume what had happened was that Himchan was now more wealthy than Daehyun, and that that had lowered Daehyun’s power and control over the school significantly. On the one hand, Youngjae wondered if that meant he might be able to escape Daehyun, which made him hopeful. On the other, that might mean that his classmates would not fear Daehyun enough to leave him alone, and Youngjae found that thought to be terrifying. “I’m literally fucked!” Daehyun shouted suddenly, and Youngjae flinched away from him. “Has this news been spread around the school yet? Should I keep Youngjae from going to school tomorrow for fear that Himchan will tell everyone to go on with bothering him with their boring problems despite the damage that will do to his mental health?”

With Youngjae’s suspicions confirmed, he pulled his knees to his chest. Suddenly, his biggest threat did not seem to be Daehyun anymore. Suzy’s next words did help, in some way. “Yongguk has a soft spot for him, and so Himchan will let you keep doing whatever your doing to keep them away from him now. The news about the Kims has spread, but the news about the Bangs has not. So, as far as our classmates are concerned, you two look about equal right now and Himchan is voicing that he isn’t going to oppose you on what you were doing before the break. It seems with graduation coming soon for them, they don’t see a reason to mess with the status quo.” She said. “Anyway, Min should be getting here soon, I’m going to go try to meet her and get her under control. If I can’t then I might just take you up on that offer to make her the target though, I’m sure it won’t be hard to rope Himchan into it anyway. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She waved and Daehyun said his goodbyes as well before she was out the door and Daehyun was turning to him.

“Please don’t make Min the target.” Youngjae begged instantly.

“I would suggest you just erase her from your mind.” Daehyun replied. “Don’t go defending someone that’s trying to throw you to the dogs, Youngjae. Or, do you forget our conversation from a couple days ago? She’s trying to use you. She wants to make it so you get in trouble instead of her. Honestly, you’re lucky I have bigger things to worry about or I’d probably have to drive that point home again, wouldn’t I? Don’t you thing you have enough bruises right now?”

“Sorry.” Youngjae mumbled. Given how much Daehyun was fuming next to him, he though it ill-advised to argue his point any further. If Suzy and Min broke up, he’d try to make a deal with Daehyun, but for now not getting hit was priority number one. “Can you explain what just happened with you and Himchan?” Youngjae asked. “Is it bad?”

“Yeah, it’s bad.” Daehyun answered. “This schools system gives power to the wealthiest, you know that. Whoever has the most money gets to do whatever they want. For my entire life, I have been the wealthiest. No one else has ever come close to me. Himchan has been rising over the years, but I didn’t expect it to reach this level. He’s right below me as far as wealth goes. With Yongguk, he’s richer than me. That means together they are more powerful than me, and since Yongguk said he loved Himchan in public, it’s essentially set. Himchan has more power than me. He could decide at any point to break us up, to name you as the target, to tell our classmates to stop ignoring you, and so on. I don’t think he’d do any of those things since we’re friends and since I’m close to him as far as power goes so he could seriously fuck himself over by pissing me off like that, but I’m just not as all-powerful as I was before.” He seemed frustrated and angry. He was shaking a bit like he might hit something, and Youngjae was pretty sure that something would be him if he wasn’t careful.

“You seem stressed.” He mumbled gently. “Why don’t you let me help with that?” He asked.

By the time Daehyun decided to look at him, Youngjae was already on his knees waiting for permission to touch him. “Good boy.” Daehyun praised softly. “Get on with it. I’ll probably need to fuck your mouth multiple times just to begin to get over this.” Youngjae did not respond; he just dropped his jaw and waited.


	17. Chapter 17

Light streamed through the grey curtains over the large bay window in Daehyun's room. Youngjae scrunched his closed eyes before he was conscious enough to know to hide that he was awake. Warm arms squeezed around his middle, Daehyun's head on his chest and his legs tangled around Youngjae's like he was literally clinging to him. Youngjae was lying on his back, one arm around Daehyun but otherwise spread out with no real signs that he cared for the man clinging to him. With Daehyun still squeezing him, Youngjae ran his fingers up and down Daehyun's back and continued even after he stopped squeezing.

They had kicked the blankets off in the middle of the night since the dorm had been warmed far passed the frigid temperatures of the mid-winter outside world, but now when they were waking up the slight coldness set in and Youngjae shivered. Daehyun chuckled, deep and warm as he shifted over so that he could be on top of Youngjae. He started kissing his neck, affectionate but possessive as he started leaving dark marks on Youngjae's skin. Youngjae stretched his neck out to the side to let Daehyun have better access, not surprised when Daehyun shifted so he was straddling one of his legs so he could grind their hips together. Gentle, affectionate kisses trailed their way up the bared skin to his lips, drawing him into a long, feverish kiss that lasted until Daehyun's stomach growled. Youngjae laughed just a little when Daehyun pulled away, kissing his cheek as Daehyun leaned toward the intercom on the nightstand. He pressed the button on it in and two soft, melodic beeps sounded to say the microphone had turned on.

"Have the cook bring us some breakfast." Daehyun said to the machine, used to communicate between he and the butler who was the main staff organizer for the dorm. "A traditional breakfast for me, the cook knows what I usually ask for, and just some toast and a banana for Youngjae." Once Daehyun was done confirming their orders he went back to pecking at Youngjae's lips. Youngjae was tired of Daehyun choosing what he ate, but he didn't dare object because things were going so well since his fit over Daehyun not paying attention to him during break. Even if Daehyun was micromanaging everything, at least they weren't fighting and Youngjae wasn't getting hit or punished.

Daehyun sat back on his feet, pulling Youngjae with him. "We should get ready." Daehyun mumbled. "School starts today."

"Do we have to?" Youngjae whined back, only whining louder when Daehyun physically dragged him out of bed. "Come on, please? Why don't we just stay in bed today and relax, I don't want to be around them. I'll suck you off whenever you want." He tried. So much dread and fear over his classmates had built up over the couple weeks of break, Youngjae as absolutely terrified to be around them again.

"Nice try but you already do that." Daehyun teased as he dragged Youngjae towards the shower. "Come on, we got up early. We have time to have some fun in the shower." He sighed, giving in and letting Daehyun pull him into the bathroom. Daehyun never let him shower alone anymore, whether or not they ended up doing something sexual. There was not a single second of his day such that Daeyun was not with him, with the exception of bathroom breaks. Given that Daehyun had gotten into the habit of forcing Youngjae to let him wash him, Youngjae doubted it would be long until he was imposing on and micromanaging that as well. Once Youngjae had sucked Daehyun off and gotten a rushed handjob in reciprocation, Daehyun washed the both of them. He refused to let Youngjae touch the soap, even, as if washing himself would be too much freedom. Once Daehyun was content, he let Youngjae dry himself, a rare freedom, but still Youngjae had to get dressed in the clothes Daehyun chose for him and eat the simple food Daeyun ordered for him since he decided that Youngjae needed to lose some weight. Youngjae had never minded his weight before, it was a part of him just like his limbs and his glasses that he was no longer allowed to wear. But Daehyun felt the need to shape Youngjae into exactly what he wanted, forcing him onto a strict diet while he ate lavishly.

They were still early for class because Daeyun insisted on waking them up so early, and so Youngjae was pushed to his knees again and given the painful 'priviledge' of choking on Daehyun's cock as it was repeatedly shoved down his throat. It was a little frustrating how often Daehyun would want to be sucked off, especially since he always found some excuse to not reciprocate— they wouldn't have time or he would be too hungry or any number of other reasons. Daehyun had once threatened to beat him for touching himself while he was fucking his mouth, so Youngjae was either going to need to deal with it or find some way to get release while Daehyun was having his way with him.

Youngjae had been debating letting Daehyun fuck him since the moment he let Daehyun finger him. It had felt really good and whenever Daehyun actually bothered to get him off that way now, he'd always come so hard it splattered up to his neck. He didn't have a good reason to postpone it now other than that he could. Daehyun had admitted he probably wouldn't get antsy looking to go any farther with Youngjae for at least a year, maybe even more because he liked those blowjobs so much and he now had a satisfying way of making Youngjae scream his name. Now when Daehyun was angry, there was a quick and easy solution to worm his way out of punishment, and while Youngjae felt a little used, at least the pressure to let Daehyun have more was gone. He had debated it a number of times and the only reason remaining to let Daehyun fuck him anymore was if it was what Youngjae wanted.

Youngjae wanted it.

He had sent himself to the bathroom countless times thinking about it. Sure Daehyun's fingers felt good in him, but Youngjae was now debating how much better it would feel if there was more. He was scared, of course, because he knew it would hurt a lot the first time and he doubted he could get Daehyun to be gentle and slow enough that it wouldn't matter. But at the same time, he wanted it. Youngjae was trying to convince himself to slow down, to give the decision time so he could try to come up with the worst-case scenarios such a decision could bring. Sucking Daehyun off hadn't seemed so bad until it was the only thing Daehyun ever wanted to do, but since sex would be pleasurable for the both of them Youngjae sort of doubted it would be the same even if Daehyun decided they were going to do it all the time. Daehyun was rough whenever he thought he could get away with it, but Youngjae had started to take pleasure in it. Once they got passed those first couple of times when it would actually hurt, he imagined it would be like when Daehyun was rough when fingering him and it would feel really good.

There was no downside that immediately came to mind, but he still wanted to give himself time to debate it before he just told Daehyun to get on with it. Youngjae's birthday was only a couple weeks away, less than a month, and he started to think that maybe he should ask for that as a birthday present. Daehyun had already bought him everything he could even dream of wanting, so why not get this next? Maybe he would even be able to convince Daehyun to be gentle for his first time since it would be his birthday.

Daehyun walked him to his first class, but Youngjae kept the decision to himself. He knew he couldn't say it in public anyway, for fear of someone overhearing them since Daehyun had an image of their relationship he seemed to want to keep.

In accordance with that image, he had his arm possessively over Youngjae's shoulders as he walked him to class, but Daehyun did not make any efforts to look at or talk to him. Youngjae was as much of an accessory as the necklace around Daehyun's neck. Daehyun wanted the whole school to think that he only kept Youngjae around to pleasure him sexually and to act like an accessory, although he had overheard a few students discuss the theory that Daehyun chose him in specific not only because of the total control he had, but also because it probably pleased his parents to see him with someone, and moreover with someone they approved of.

He heard a lot of whispers about him, but the rumors had long since stopped being malicious. The days of girls whispering behind his back that he must be talented in bed or good at giving head, of calling him a pet or a toy, had faded away. These new rumors, new whispers, and new theories were spoken loud enough for him to hear, as if they expected some small form of confirmation from Youngjae. His first class was fllled with those whispered words, taking up the spaces where the professor's speech lulled. "Youngjae didn't know at all what Daehyun was doing." He heard. "He said it at the party to Yoseob. When he found out Daehyun had broken he and Jieun up, he convinced Daehyun to let them get back together, that's what Yoseob told me. I wonder if it's true." Youngjae took a deep breath, but he didn't answer. He knew he wasn't allowed to, someone would report it to Daehyun and he would be beaten for it. Major infractions were a death sentence, that's what Daehyun had said, and as scary as it was, Youngjae didn't really doubt it. Breaking the rules meant getting beaten to death.

It was another ten minutes before a suitable lull arose for whispers, another voice chiming in. "They're back together, aren't they? Both talked to Youngjae, not Daehyun. If he didn't know that Daehyun won't let us talk to him, do you think he thinks we hate him? Like, he was the target and then we weren't allowed to talk to him, so maybe he thinks we do."

"And we can't tell him that we don't or Daehyun will find some way to fuck us over, whether it be our grades or our social status or our parent's companies. Himchan said he was going to keep letting Daehyun prevent us, too, so he'll probably always believe that lie." A third voice chimed in. "Maybe Daehyun tells him it, too, to prevent him from talking to us. Youngjae doesn't even try, so he must have done something."

"It has to be something like that, too. Youngjae is smart enough to call for a trial if Daehyun broke the rules." The first voice said. "So either he hates us or Daehyun tricked him into thinking we hate him. I doubt what Hayoung did helped any."

The professor then found the solution to whatever technical problem they were having and the classroom quieted. They didn't hate him? Youngjae didn't believe it. He knew he should, it was straight from them and he knew Daehyun liked to lie to control him, but after what his classmates had done to him, Youngjae struggled to believe it. After Seunghyun, he struggled to believe it.

The teacher posed a question to the class looking over everyone's face as they tried to pick someone to answer it. But when their eyes should have landed on Youngjae, they were quick to look away. Even the teachers wouldn't look at him anymore. Youngjae realized the extreme Daehyun's possessive must have reached that even teachers were afraid of crossing him. It happened over and over during the two hours of lectures, times when the professor should have looked at him but didn't. Even when he raised his hand, the only one in the classroom to know the answer to the teacher's question, he was ignored. Before someone else could tell on him, Youngjae texted Daehyun to whine that the professor wouldn't look at him and he had a question preventing him from understanding the lecture. Daehyun only texted back that Youngjae would have to figure it out on his own, but because there was an emoticon following that, Youngjae assumed he wasn't angry.

Daehyun came to pick him up after class, pausing to sit on Youngjae's desk and glare at everyone else in the room. "Did you figure out the answer to your question?" Daehyun asked. He shot a quick glare at the teacher, as if he was distrustful that the professor had ignored him as Daehyun wished.

"No." Youngjae answered, "but I'm sure it's in the textbook." He added with a wave of his hands.

Daehyun seemed to relax then, but his eyes turned to glare around the room at the rest of his classmates. "Did anything happen during class? Anyone say anything to or about you?" Youngjae could hear the gulps of the classmates behind him that were whispering about him. Just like those girls at the beginning of the year, Youngjae couldn't bring himself to sell them out.

"No one talked to me, and if they were talking about me, I didn't hear it." He lied. It was a safe lie because if someone told Daehyun that they were talking, it wouldn't get Youngjae in trouble, and if no one told Daehyun then they would not get in trouble as well. Daehyun didn't seem to believe him.

Walking down the hall, Youngjae felt like a ghost. No one looked at him. No one talked to him. Those little social events, smiles shared between acquaintances or waves shared between friends, all were missing. Even Jieun and Yoseob when they went by wouldn't acknowledge him. Weren't they safe from Daehyun now that they had said 'I love you'? Maybe they were just using him to get back together, but he had thought maybe they liked him when they saved him from Hayoung. It was apparently too much to hope for.

A rough hand on his shoulder made him drop his eyes quickly. He wasn't allowed to look. "What caught your eye?" Daehyun asked, voice cold and full of warning. Youngjae had to come up with a reason why he was looking at them when he wasn't allowed to.

A quick flash of memory, of what they two looked like, and Youngjae found an excuse so sickly sweet that Daehyun might take it. "Around their necks they had— um— never mind it's stupid." He pulled a fake pout.

"What did they have?" Daehyun asked. His hand had gone loose again, as if he found relaxation in the sheer idea that Youngjae was simply envious of what someone else had rather than that he was actually looking at another human being. Daehyun's jealousy was astounding. "Anything you want, I'll buy it for you. What was it?"

"It's not a matter of you buying it, it's if you'd actually wear it." Youngjae grumbled, faking annoyance.

"What would they have that you'd want me to wear?" Daehyun asked.

"Couple rings." Youngjae admitted, his face turning red. Seeing the pure look of shock on Daehyun's face made him think his lie had been believed, and now he only needed to cement it into place. "I just thought— you said we were boyfriends now and— never mind it's stupid. I'm stupid."

Daehyun pulled them to the side of the hallway, close enough to Youngjae's next class that they could afford to stop anyway. He leaned up against the wall and pulled Youngjae by the hips toward him, a warm, indulging smile on his face. "Do you want us to get couple rings, Youngjae?" He asked, his tone a bit teasing. Youngjae nodded even though he did not really care either way. "Then we'll get couple rings." Daehyun promised dotingly.

Youngjae faked a small smile, looking down for just a moment. "Thank you." He mumbled when he looked up again. Daehyun tapped his own cheek lightly and Youngjae leaned forward to peck it obediently.

"What a cute moment." Someone called from the sidelines. The two turned to see Himchan and Yongguk.

"Himchan." Daehyun said amicably, though his face betrayed that he wasn't that happy to see him. "I haven't seen you since the party. I hope your break went well." Subtly Daehyun shifted he and Youngjae around so that Youngjae was mostly hidden behind him, as if he was worried Himchan posed some threat. After what Daehyun had said about Himchan having power not too long ago, Youngjae understood the fear.

"It was wonderful. I trust yours was the same." Himchan replied. Youngjae wished he had subtitles because he felt like there was some showdown going on in the hidden context of what appeared to be a normal conversation. Once Daehyun had confirmed, Himchan turned to him. "And how was yours, Youngjae?"

Youngjae looked to Daehyun for permission to answer, and Daehyun gave him a soft nod. "It was pleasant." He answered in a small voice.

"You'll need to learn to speak for yourself soon, Youngjae." Himchan teased. "Between the situation with Hayoung and the situation between Suzy and Min, I don't doubt we'll be having a trial soon. If we do, Yongguk might be inclined to put the 'couples cannot talk directly to each other' rule into place."

"You'd let Yongguk take over the precedings?" Daehyun asked. "He's taken the fall already, you're allowed to take over for him." Youngjae could only guess 'the fall' meant the 'I love you' ritual.

"He's the oldest and the trial precedings dictate that he'd be in charge unless I took the fall as well." Himchan replied.

Daehyun raised his eyebrows. "I'm still surprised you haven't." He said. "I'd think unadulterated power would be right up your alley." The words were slightly biting, even Youngjae could tell that. But at least then he was certain that 'the fall' was refering to the 'I love you' and 'I love you too' rituals Min had told him about.

Himchan's face hardened for just a second before a cocky smirk covered it. "Don't confuse your desires with my own, Daehyun. Not all of us feel the need to turn people into puppets." He stepped forward then, too close to Daehyun's face, and lowered his voice so only Daehyun could hear him. "Watch yourself." With a hand briefly clapped onto Daehyun's shoulder and a pleased smile, Himchan left. Daehyun was left fuming, and Youngjae, confused and scared.

"Youngjae," Daehyun said when Himchan was out of earshot. "If he's ever about to fall from a cliff or something, remind me not to save him."

 

"Happy birthday!" Daehyun cheered weeks later, dropping his backpack by his desk before he crawled onto the bed after Youngjae. Cupping Youngjae's cheeks gently, he connected their lips in a slow, gentle kiss which gave Youngjae hope that he'd actually be able to convince Daheyun to be gentle with him. He still hadn't told Daehyun, but his decision was made. He wanted this. "So," Daehyun said when he pulled away, a look of sight discontent on his face. "I got you exactly what you asked for for your birthday: I came home immediately after class and I have no plans for the rest of the night, not even ones for us to do together."

"I also asked that you didn't get me any presents." Youngjae replied, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Yeah, but I decided that one was dumb and that I wasn't going to listen." Daehyun answered with a cheery smile. Youngjae pouted. "Hey, hey, don't pout that's not fair. You're not supposed to pout when I'm just being extra nice to you. I'll still get you whatever this giant, secret thing you want is. And to be fair, I only got you two presents and they're both things you said you wanted before."

"Are they expensive though?" Youngjae answered. "I told you that you've already spent too much money on me."

"I could never spend too much money on you." Daehyun answered dotingly. He had been that way since Youngjae had asked for couple rings, although he had never actually gotten them as far as Youngjae knew. He didn't know how but his quickly thought up lie had ended up benefitting him, as if Daehyun was just so glad that Youngjae wanted everyone to know that he was taken. Suddenly, Daehyun satisfaction made sense, especially when he realized Daehyun might view the rings as visual representation that Youngjae belonged to him. "Anyway," Daehyun cheered happily. "One of them was really expensive, but it was supposed to be a Christmas present so I had already bought it. The other was something you asked for recently."

Daehyun held up one finger before rushing over to dig through his bag, crawling back with a little box in his hands. "I know it's been a couple weeks since you asked for these, but I wanted to give them to you now. I mean, immediately after you asked for them I went online and ordered them, but they've just been sitting in my bag since then."

He presented the box a little nervously, as if he was suddenly unsure of if it was really what Youngae wanted. Youngjae pulled off the small box's lid and found two rings inside. "Couple rings?" He asked.

"If you still want them." Daehyun answered quickly.

Youngjae kissed him, long and gentle and slow. Even if he didn't actually care, it was a nice gesture and Daehyun seemed really happy about it. He was still praying he could convince Daehyun to be gentle with him, so anything that made Daehyun happy was appreciated. Daehyun slid the rings onto their fingers after. "The other present can wait, right?" Youngjae mumbled.

"If there's something you want to do instead, then yeah." Daehyun answered.

"Well, um, I said there was a big present I wanted from you." Youngjae said. "I want that now. It's not something you have to buy. It's just something I want to do if you're okay with it."

"What do you want to do?" Daehyun asked.

"It."

"It?" Daehyun asked, confused. "You want to do 'it'?" Sudden recognition crossed his features and he looked at Youngjae's blushing face with surprise. "Really? You're ready? What about wanting it to be special?"

Youngjae had only said he wanted to wait until it was special to stall Daehyun, so he figured he'd just bullshit his way out of it if Daehyun remembered. "Well, it's my birthday." Youngjae said. "I thought that would be special enough and then you gave me the couple ring and now— now it's perfect." He faked a smile, pleased by how easily Daehyun fell for that. "Is it okay with you?" He asked.

"More than okay." Daehyun answered quickly. "I've wanted this for so long, it's like a present for me more that it's a present for you." Before Youngjae could reply, Daehyun had sealed their lips into a passionate kiss. It wasn't gentle anymore and it wasn't slow. Daehyun seemed to forget the way Youngjae liked it, rather immediately jumping back to the way he liked it: rough and fast. Youngjae did his best not to resist but Daehyun had started to kiss him with such force that it physically hurt, and he didn't think he could stand sex if it was like that.

When Daehyun finally broke the brutal kiss, he was quick to pull off their shirts and start kissing Youngjae's neck and chest, biting into Youngjae's neck roughly. "Daehyun." Youngjae whined without thinking.

The man in question seemed to interpret it as a plea for more, not a request that he be gentler. "Beg for it." He said with a excited grin. There was nothing malicious about the order, he didn't seem to realize he was hurting Youngjae at all. "I want to hear you beg for me to fuck you."

Wording. Wording was everything with Daehyun and Youngjae knew it. A volatile situation could be turned gentle with a simple change in wording. Youngjae prayed that was true in this case. "Please." He begged softly, "please, Master. Make love to me." Those words were awkward in his mouth, turning his face red as he said them. Daehyun stopped touching him immediately, withdrew his rough hands and lips to stare at Youngjae with such surprise it made Youngjae regret his words.

But only temporarily.

When Daehyun kissed him again it was slow and gentle. Suddenly with that shift in wording Daehyun was careful, like even the slightest pressure might break Youngjae. He cupped Youngjae's face again, holding together like that for a long time as the sweet kiss continued. Daehyun's hands did end up going trailing over Youngjae's body, and he showed no objection when Youngjae's hands took up similar actions.

By the time Daehyun laid them down and started to rock their hips together, straddling on of Youngjae's legs so he was humping his thigh, they were both already hard. Their lips broke to the tune of a soft, pleased gasp from Youngjae, and Daehyun was quick to wrap his arms around him and squeeze him tightly to turn that gasp into a moan.

"Don't pull my hair." Daehyun warned, although Youngjae did not understand why until kiss went trailing down his neck and chest, pausing to leave the occasional hickey in their wake. The those kisses reached the waistline of Youngjae's jeans. He sealed his lips on the soft skin below Youngjae's navel as he undid his jeans, sucking a dark hickey into the skin before he was willing to pull away. He had Youngjae lift his hips then so he could pull his jeans and underwear off. Seconds later he was sucking on the tip of Youngjae's dick, no teasing and no warning.

Youngjae gripped onto the sheets instead of Daehyun's hair, as per request, as Daehyun took him down over and over again. If Daehyun hadn't been pinning his hips down, he thought he would be unable to resist bucking his hips up into the warmth of his mouth. Despite the number of times Youngjae had been on the giving end, Daehyun had only done this to him a handful of times, each feeling as incredible as the next.

Daehyun pulled off for a couple of seconds, grinning and kissing Youngjae's lips when he let out a loud whine in response. He reached over to rifle through one of the drawers on one of the nightstands, fishing out a small tube before he went back to bobbing his head up and down Youngjae's dick.

Something cold rung around his hole Youngjae knew what was happening before Daehyun stuck that first finger in. He pulled his lips off again to the tune of another whine, but did not move far this time. "You like when I'm a bit rough with this, right?" Daehyun asked. He thrust his finger in and out of Youngjae as if to emphasize what he was talking about, causing Youngjae to arch off the bed a little.

"Yeah." Youngjae murmured, rolling his hips down onto Daehyun's finger. When Daehyun hesitated, he added, "please, mas—"

"Don't call me that tonight." Daehyun cut him off. "You know I love it when you call me by that name, but not tonight. If we're making love, I'm just Daehyun."

Youngjae nodded and Daehyun resumed his motions, taking Youngjae down again and sticking a second lube-covered finger in before Youngjae was ready for it. Above him, Youngjae was moaning and whimpering and whining as those fingers inside him scissored him open and searched for that spot that would make him scream.

Three fingers in, like always, Daehyun found it. He prodded against the spot, or sometimes ruthlessly dug his fingers in, until Youngjae could no longer scream his name but only let it out in broken whimpers.

He was so close, so close, when Daehyun pulled off him, lips off his cock and fingers out from inside him. "Daehyun— Daehyun, please." Youngjae begged. "Don't stop. It felt so good. Please." Daehyun hushed him with a long, gentle kiss, humming against Youngjae's lip until he came down from the high he had so nearly reached.

"This is going to feel even better." Daehyun promised. He pulled away then to fumble with the lube, his fingers slick from when he was fingering Youngjae such that he stuggled to open the tube. Youngjae sat up to take it from him, helping Daehyun out of his pants and rubbing the slick gel over his cock for him while Daehyun groaned. He was breathing hard through his nose when he pushed Youngjae down onto his back again, this time with his legs spread for Daehyun to fit between.

Loud, pained whimpers filled the room when Daehyun pushed in, but surprisingly he waited for Youngjae to adjust. They laid there for a long time, put together but not moving, foreheads pressed together as they panted. "You're so tight." Daeyun praised. "It's so good. So good, Youngjae."

Youngjae pulled him down for a kiss, slow and gentle as he waited for it to hurt less. It took a long while, but for once Daehyun was patient. It started with the littlest rut from Youngjae, minuscule and careful. Daehyun took the next action upon himself, slow and only marginally bigger. But after that each thrust grew, Daehyun pulling out more and more before he'd push back in until their hips were rocking together at a steady, slow, gentle pace that had Youngjae moaning nonstop.

It was pretty obvious Daehyun was restraining himself. He clearly wanted to be rougher, but he didn't push it. It's not like it didn't feel good slow, either. "You're taking it so well." Daehyun praised when he couldn't take it anymore. "I bet you'd be just fine if I went a lttle faster, wouldn't you?" The requst was clear and Youngjae didn't want to deny him. He struggled to form intelligible words, settling on a nod to answer Daehyun's question. "Good boy." Daehyun praised and Youngjae nearly screamed out his next moan, as if those words had pleased him that much.

Youngjae's moans got louder with the faster pace, although Daehyun was still being gentle as he tried to swallow those moans with a kiss. However, it was only a couple seconds later that Youngjae was breaking from the kiss to scream. "D-Dae— f-fu— there please!" Daehyun angled his hips to hit the same spot again, pleased when Youngjae screamed his name and clamped down on him.

"That's a good boy, screaming my name." Daehyun praised, only because it made Youngjae scream his name louder.

Tears were streaming down Youngjae's face with the pleasure. As Daehyun had started going faster it had started to hurt more, but the pleasure was so overwhelming that he barely noticed. "M-More, please—" Youngjae begged, and Daehyun was happy to oblige, his thrusts harder and faster as his groans sounded in time with Youngjae's screamed moans.

Youngjae's voice cut out right before he came, but his expression was one of pure bliss as Daehyun fucked him through his orgasm, coming a minute or so after. White stripes painted up Youngjae's chest, and more leaked out of his ass when he pulled out. It was a disgusting feeling, but he didn't want to move. He just wanted to lay there staring at the ceiling and wondering why he hadn't done that earlier. Daehyun collapsed by his side, completely umoving and calmer than Youngjae had ever seen him before.

They were silent for maybe five minutes before Daeyun went shifting around, reaching into the nightstand again with hesitation. "Is now a good time to give you the other present?" Daehyun asked. Youngjae nodded. "Are you not answering out loud because you think you just blew your voice out?" Youngjae nodded again. Daehyun pecked his cheek. "I don't remember if you remember this, but a while back you asked for something a couple times. I can't give it to you without dying, but you said symbolically is good enough, so, um, here." He passed the small box in his hands to Youngjae, who eyed him and the box suspiciously. He knew what he had asked for, but he didn't know what Daehyun could be giving him symbolically to represent his heart.

Inside was a pink gem, clear and beautiful, cut into the steroeotypical shape of a heart. "Daehyun." Youngjae mumbled, his voice breaking and cracking from all of the screaming.

"It would have been bigger, but I wanted it to fit in the secret chamber thing on your watch." He mumbled sheepishly. "Do you like it?"

Youngjae nodded. "It's perfect." He mumbled back.

Daehyun kissed him, long and slow, and Youngjae blindly put the heart on the nightstand next to him as the kiss heated up. "Would you, um, would you want to do it again?" Daehyun asked hopefully. Youngjae nodded. "Do you think I could fuck you this time?" He was asking to be rough, Youngjae knew that. Despite how much he was already sore, Youngjae couldn't bring himself to say no. Daehyun had just been so good to him, between restraining himself on Youngjae's first time, to remembering things Youngjae had asked for, and letting Youngjae call the shots. He wanted to reward Daehyun.

He was manhandled onto his hands and knees, but despite the traumatic month of being pushed down into that position, he did not mind.


	18. Chapter 18

There was a hand running up and down his back when he woke up, his face turned away from the body heat next to him such Daehyun woudn't have an easy time telling that he was awake. An annoyed tone was carried through the room, although since he still appeared to be asleep, he knew it wasn't directed towards him. It had been three weeks since his birthday, and Youngjae would argue everything was nearly perfect. Daehyun had hit him once since then, and Youngjae had responded by cutting Daehyun off from any sexual activity for several days. That had been a couple days after his birthday and Daehyun hadn't dared hit him since. Leaving the relationship seemed like an impossible dream, but at least he could better it for himself.

"Listen." Daehyun's voice sounded exasperated, but quickly after it became clear he was just talking with Suzy on the phone. It had been happening more and more often that he would be on the phone whenever he thought Youngjae was occupied, arguing with Suzy or Himchan or any number of other people since he had officially lost his power to Himchan, "Suzy, just listen to me. I know her insubordination is an annoyance, but I can't help you anymore than I have. The news about Yongguk's deal with his siblings came out so I don't really have that much leverage unless Himchan is backing me anymore. The only things I control are who can talk to Youngjae and the situation with Hayoung."

There was a pause. "Yes, it is literally killing me. I hate not having control, but sadly I can't magically make my own stocks go up. If it weren't for Youngjae, I'd probably go mad. Whatever, the point being that Himchan doesn't want to make Min the target. You remember in high school he was all buddy-buddy with her friends Jia and Fei, and the two seem to have convinced him to leave her be. I can't get him to change his mind. Even if I were to go get Naeun and try to pressure him, our two combined wealth isn't enough. If Kibum weren't off with the wind, maybe, or next year when that Namjoon kid comes to university. I heard he gained enough wealth to match Himchan, which is horrifying because it means I won't have power next year either. But, maybe I can convince him. He's always liked me. He might operate on a joint system if I bribe him enough and then I'd have the power to make her target for you."

It was silent for a couple seconds longer and Daehyun leaned down to peck Youngjae's hair before he went back to talking on the phone. "I'm not crossing Himchan like that, he has the power to end Youngjae and I's relationship. Listen, Suzy, I get it. Her hair is pink and she keeps wearing pants and talking back to you. Don't you think you're overreacting a little, though?" A pause. "Well, it probably sounds that way because I don't want to help you. I'm sorry, but Youngjae found out what you're planning and he's against it." Youngjae had no clue what Daehyun was talking about. "Yeah, last night he heard my discussion with Himchan and begged me not to make Min the target." That hadn't happened, but Youngjae wasn't going to argue with it. "Yeah, not only is Min his friend, but also there's that rule that there can only be one target at a time. If Min is the target, then Hayoung isn't. She got back on Monday, that's only three days ago. Don't you think she deserves more of a punishment than that?" Another pause, although this one was very long and Youngjae could practically hear Suzy yelling. "I'm sorry, Suzy. He's the love of my life, I couldn't do that to him. You'll just have to break up with her or something. She's an outsider, it won't hurt your social status too much. I gotta go, Youngjae is waking up." Daehyun lied. He hung up the phone and sighed.

When Youngjae rolled over, Daehyun had his face buried in his hands from the stress. "What's wrong?" Youngjae asked sweetly, although he was pretty sure he had just heard the problem. Daehyun slid down to lay next to him, wrapping his arm around Youngjae's middle and snuggling close to him.

"I miss being in control." Daehyun whined. "First Himchan gets more money than me and so he's in charge until he graduates at the end of the year. Now, as of last night, a senior in our high school system matches him for wealth when you count Yongguk's wealth as part of Himchan's. Without Yongguk, he's weathier than Himchan. At least he likes me more than Himchan likes me. We're only friends because we're both richer than everyone else, and I'm pretty sure that now that he's weathier than me, he's looking for way to piss me off. Namjoon, the high schooler, actually genuinely likes me. Maybe I can get him to let me have some of my control back when he comes in as a first year next year, but social pecking order in this school dictates that he can't give me all of my power back. It's annoying."

Youngjae didn't really know how to answer that. Daehyun was always weird about control, and he seemed to get more controlling towards him whenever he felt like he had less control over everyone else. So, Youngjae took the safe route and kissed him, letting Daehyun kiss him as he pleased. "Daehyun, will you promise me something?" Youngjae asked sweetly.

Daehyun hummed. "What do you want?" He asked.

"I want you to promise that no matter what, you won't make Min the target." Youngjae accented this with a kiss. "She's my friend and I would be really upset if I saw her getting hurt like that."

"I'll try not to, but I might not have a choice." Daehyun replied. "Don't worry, she'd be smart enough to quit."

He went in for another kiss but Youngjae turned his face away. Daehyun tried again but Youngjae just pushed him off. "I don't want to kiss you right now." He grumbled, hoping it would be enough to pressure Daehyun into making the promise.

"We were just kissing a couple seconds ago, though. Or, did you decide you don't want to kiss me because I didn't say what you wanted me to say?" He narrowed his eyes threateningly.

"No, I'm just not in the mood." Youngjae lied. Daehyun growled and raised his hand. "You know, if you hit me, I might just not be in the mood for a while. Maybe a week, maybe a whole month." While Daehyun's hand dropped back down without any injury to Youngjae, he didn't seem to be any happier with Youngjae using sex as a means to get what he wanted. It was possible he even more angry.

"Well," Daehyun said, cocking an eyebrow and reaching for his laptop. "I know of something that will, without a doubt, get you into the mood." He opened it, pulling up a file saved to the desktop. A video player popped up, with the background black, and Daehyun was quick to pull Youngjae into his arms and in between his legs before the video could load enough that that black screen could change to an image.

It was Youngjae, dick out and in hand, clothes off, on the screen. Youngjae's actual, non-video face burned as he prayed this wasn't what he thought it was. Daehyun started the video and Youngjae's heart broke at the sound of his own whimpers. He knew Daehyun was fucked up, but this was a whole different level! His face burned and tears welled up in his eyes as he watched how in the video he paused only a couple seconds in to stroking himself, muttering words of how it might hurt less if he tried it before he let Daehyun. "How?" He asked, tears spilling and voice cracking as he tried to squirm away from Daehyun.

"I hacked into your webcam so I could watch you while we were apart." Daehyun said, as if that was not the most fucked up thing in the world. He said it as if it was normal. "When I saw this I just couldn't help but record it." He added cheerily. Youngjae tried to squirm away again, going for the laptop so he could delete the video. "I wouldn't do that. If we go squirming around on the bed, one of us might accidentally send this out to the whole school, or worse, your family. You wouldn't want any of them seeing you moan my name like the little slut you are, would you?"

Youngjae fell back against Daehyun's chest, utter disgust and hurt showing across his face as Daehyun smiled against his skin in victory. "You know," Daehyun murmured, his voice having taken up a sadistic edge. "I watch this all the time. Over break I probably watched it once a day." He had let go of Youngjae temporarily to grab the lube on the nightstand, always in reach since they fucked so often. "You look like you liked it so much, baby. Let's see if we can get you screaming that loud again."

"I-I'm in the mood now, you can turn it off!" Youngjae said quickly, knowing what was coming soon. "Plus, you can see the live version of this whenever you want, so you might as well delete the video. Please, turn it off!" He begged, but Daehyun was ignoring him.

Right as Youngjae stuck his finger in himself in the video, Daehyun did that same. He was clearly trying to mirror the video, stroking him at the same time as well. Youngjae was too shocked and disturbed to get hard though, even when Daehyun deviated from the video, speeding up the stretching so that he had three fingers in by the time video-Youngjae had two. He was pressing up against Youngjae's prostate, but it's pretty much impossible for most people to get hard when they're feeling so disgusted and betrayed. "How could you?" Youngjae cried.

"You're mine. I get to do whatever I want." Daehyun answered coldly. "You know, this isn't as fun in real life as it was in the video. Maybe if you were moaning I would like it better. Maybe I'll video tape this and send both out to get a second opinion on which is better." Youngjae instantly through his head back, faking a loud, pleased moan like the ones he was letting out in the video.

"Good boy." Daehyun whispered, right in time with Youngjae whispering it to himself in the video.

"Please, turn it off." Youngjae begged. The Youngjae in the video was going to start screaming soon, and he was already horrified as it was. Of all of the awful things Daehyun had done to him, this was the worst. He felt violated, betrayed, and dirty. What had he done wrong? What had he done to deserve this awfulness? "Please, please we can't both watch if I'm riding you so please." He begged, trying to please Daehyun by pretending to like the video. If he let Daehyun fuck him, he would delete it, right?

He could feel that sick smile against his skin and a second later Daehyun was pausing the video. "It's such a good video, isn't it?" He laughed, cruelty in his voice. He knew how much that had hurt Youngjae.

"Please." Youngjae cried. "Please promise me you'll delete it."

"Promise me you'll let me be as rough as I want." Daehyun countered.

"Will you delete the video after if I do?" Youngjae asked.

"Only if you also promise to let me fuck your mouth after." Daehyun replied.

"I promise, just please." Youngjae begged. Daehyun didn't reply, instead throwing Youngjae down on his stomach, feet on the pillows and head by the laptop as Daehyun shoved himself in uncerimoniously, nevermind that he had stretched Youngjae so quickly that it hurt like hell when he pushed in. He could feel Daehyun leaning over to where his pants were on the floor, pulling his belt out of the belt loops and then pulling Youngjae's hips up so he was on his hands and knees.

Daehyun started movng his hips fast and rough, with no care for how much pain Youngjae was clearly in. Youngjae let out a loud, pained whimper and Daehyun responded by whipping him with the belt. "I'll hit you for every noise you make." Daehyun warned.

Youngjae let out another whimpering noise when Daehyun sped up, leaving hand shaped bruises on his hips and thrusting so hard they were going sliding toward the edge of the bed. He was whipped twice for the noise. "Such a dirty, worthless slut." Daehyun praised. "You're a stupid whore." He added on. "I bet you love getting whipped and spanked, don't you? If I hit you with my belt again, you'll moan, won't you? I should hit you until you do."

He whipped Youngjae twice, lashes going down his back and leaving angry red lines in their wake. He only paused because Youngjae faked a loud moan. His hands were gripping on to the edge of the bed, and each thrust drove him to a more awkward, painful angle. He wasn't even hard, too horrified to be horny. He wanted to die. If Daehyun killed him it would be perfect, because he didn't think he could stand to be anywhere near Daehyun anymore. Not after this. Any slight trust he had in Daehyun, that he had a line that he wouldn't cross, that trust was gone. Daehyun's hands on him literally disgusted him. "I said not to make a sound!" Daehyun shouted in victory, hitting Youngjae viciously with each word and a couple times after. One of the lashes even hit his neck, slapping painfully against the skin.

"It seems we slid forward a bit." Daehyun teased at the odd angle Youngjae was at. They had been close to the edge when they started anyway, and Daehyun had purposely pushed them closer. He leaned forward, knocking Youngjae's arms out from under him so he was at an odder angle on the bed, head and chest hanging over the edge while his stomach was bent painfully over it. He tried to push himself up again, but Daehyun spanked his ass. "Stay down." He ordered.

So Youngjae didn't move. All the blood was rushing to his head, making him feel dizzy and sick. Pain was racing up and down his spine as Daehyun fucked him roughly, like he was trying to split him in two. Between the angle and the pain, Youngjae was quick to grow light-headed, like he might pass out. So long as Daehyun erased the video after, he did not care. If the video was gone, Daehyun would never be able to do this to him again. If the video was gone, all of it would be worth it. He would never be able to stand Daehyun touching him again, would never rid himself of the awful betrayed feeling, but his top concern was getting rid of that video. Daehyun had promised.

He was lucky that Daehyun came quickly. Lucky, but nearly unconscious. His head pulsed as rather than pulling out right away, Daehyun opted to keep his limp dick inside Youngjae for the minutes after he came, until he was starting to get hard again. He seemed to have no care that Youngjae had not gotten hard, much less actually come.

Daehyun hummed in attempt to calm down the sobbing Youngjae as he pulled out, helping him to go sliding back on the bed until only his head was hanging off the edge. He pulled Youngjae to be eye level with his half hard dick then. "Clean it off." He ordered. His dick was covered in cum and some lube, and honestly Youngjae did not want to stick something in his mouth that had just been up his ass. He reminded himself that it was to get rid of the video. It would be worth it if it resulted in the video being gone.

Hiding his gimace, Youngjae did as he was ordered and carefully licked clean the dick in front of his face, trying not to gag at the taste. "Good boy." Daehyun praised, and when he pulled his laptop forward Youngjae thought he was deleting the video. He was wrong.

Seconds later Daehyun was shoving his cock down Youngjae's throat, repeatedly and with no warning. As soon as he was fully hard in Youngjae's mouth, Youngjae's screams from the video filled the room and Daehyun fucked his mouth to the tune of them. Youngjae was crying more than he normally did when Daehyun fucked his mouth. His cock was cutting off any chance of Youngjae breathing and he just prayed that like normal it would be over quickly.

Daehyun paused when the video ended, pulling out of Youngjae's mouth despite not having come yet. He got onto the bed and pulled Youngjae farther onto it by the hips, before straddling his face and fucking down on it. At that angle, it was even harder to breathe. He thought he wouldn't mind choking to death when Daehyun restarted the video then.

When Daehyun came, the video was still playing. He had come as he always did when fucking Youngjae's face, after rutting for a couple minutes with his cock as far down Youngjae's throat as he could manage. Except this time he did not lift his hips. Daehyun stayed, sitting on Youngjae's face, until the video ended, depriving Youngjae of oxygen for those few minutes. By the time he lifted his hips, Youngjae had all but fainted. With him nearly unconscious, Daehyun put in the effort of getting them ready for the day, ready to leave by the time Youngjae had come to completely.

"Did you delete the video?" It was the first thing Youngjae asked.

"It's five minutes to eight." Daehyun answered. "I don't have time to delete it now, I'll delete it when I get home." His voice held no truth to it. Youngjae could tell he was lying.

"You promised!" He accused, tears boiling up in his eyes. Had he endured that for nothing?

"If you rush me I might just end up sending it to everyone by accident." Daehyun countered, dragging Youngjae forcefully out of the room. "Honestly I don't know why you're inisting I delete it." He huffed with annoyance. "I do so many things for you because you like them. I like this video so don't you think you owe it to me to let me keep it? It's really selfish of you to try to ruin something I like like that."

"Daehyun, please." Youngjae begged, but any further protest were cut off.

"I'll delete it when I get home." Daehyun insisted. Youngjae could tell he was lying. "Now shut up about it. I swear if you mention it even once at school I won't delete it, you hear me?"

"Yes, Master." Youngjae mumbled, lowering his head.

"Now, apologize for making me get rid of something I like. Apologize for having me give and give and give you everything under the sun, but refusing to let me have this one thing!" Youngjae didn't understand why he had to apologize for not wanting Daheyun to keep a revealing video of him that he had taken without Youngjae's consent. Wasn't that against the rules?

"I'm sorry, Master." Youngjae's cracked voice came.

"Let's go to class." Daehyun grumbled, dragging Youngjae by the hand again. Youngjae was limping more than he ever had in the past, but Daehyun wouldn't slow down for him. That and his puffy, still crying eyes must have made him quite a sight and quite a topic of conversation as they went through the school. For once Daehyun didn't wait with him at his first class, dropping Youngjae off at the door and insisting that he walk by himself to his classes for the day.

Behind him, predictably, there were whispers. There were always whispers, but never did Youngjae want to share the horrors of what had happened to him more than that day. He felt vile. His body didn't fit him and he had the urge to rip off his skin to erase Daehyun's touches on it. He was in immense amounts of pain from the treatment Daehyun had given him, and that wasn't even a reflection of how awful he felt. Two minutes into class he just put his head down and sobbed silently into his arms, unable to pay attention. The whispers grew louder and more concerned but Youngjae did not risk saying a word. The stakes were too high when Daehyun had that video. Anything he did wrong now could fuck him over. He could ask for a trial since Daehyun broke the rules, couldn't he? Youngjae was still uncertain of what the rules were, but he knew that one. Youngjae didn't want other people to know about that video. If he could get rid of it, he would ask for a trial after. He couldn't stand Daehyun anymore. Still, he couldn't do a thing until the video was gone.

Youngjae needed to get rid of it.

 

He skipped his last class of the day because he was feeling so awful. He had been crying nonstop since morning, followed by confused whispers among his fellow students wondering if he was alright— if Daehyun had said something to make him cry or if it was something else. They never risked asking him directly and Youngjae never answered, but there was a silent communication between them. They could all tell something was wrong.

Youngjae had just planned on going back to the dorm instead of his last class and trying to scrub his skin clean of Daehyun's touch, nothing else. He would be in trouble for washing himself since Daehyun seemed bent on dong that for him, but so long as he was compliant outside of that, he assumed it would be okay enough to last him until the next day, when he'd ask for a trial. He had no clue how to ask for a trial, but he'd figure it out once the video was gone. That was what was important at the moment, the video. Daehyun would make good on his promise to delete it when he got home, wouldn't he?

No, he wouldn't.

Youngjae knew he wouldn't and he knew he shouldn't be so hopeful as to think he would. Daehyun was always gone Thursday afternoons, so Youngjae guessed he had class and that he would be home alone. He wasn't sure what Daehyun would do to him for it, but the idea struck rather suddenly— he had to delete the video before Daehyun got home from class. Daehyun's laptop, his desktop at home in Busan, and his phone were all linked, so if Youngjae could get on the laptop he could destroy all traces of the video anywhere.

With that thought driving him, he was able to convince himself to limp home. He could feel everyone's eyes on him as he walked across the quad, heading towards the lane that lead to their dorm rather than towards the medical science building, where his next class was. The whispers stopped. That was what really scared Youngjae.

Getting to the dorm was painful, just as getting around all day had been. His legs felt completely numb and his back was constantly hurting, but that was nothing compared to the sandpaper feeling in his throat and the stabbing feeling in his ass. He hadn't been able to eat his lunch because his throat had hurt so bad, but Daehyun just passed it off, telling everyone that Youngjae was dealing with some 'family drama' and would be back to his normal self when it resolved. He could see the disbelief on their faces out of the corner of his eye. No one believed him— they all thought something was going on.

Eventually he limped up the stairs to his dorm, getting himself in quietly in hopes the staff wouldn't notice and report what he was doing. They were wary about him, but they had lied in the past to help him. It was always little white lies, nothing like the massive cover ups the previous staff used to do, but it was something and Youngjae appreciated it.

Voices carried through the hall, one an unknown and female and the other made fear shoot up Youngjae's spine. Daehyun was home. "Yeah, really." He was saying. "It's just all family drama with those poor folks. It's making him miserable." Lies.

"If you're sure." The woman's voice answered. "Whatever, let's not talk about him. He's boring. All he ever does is mope around with his eyes glued on the floor. Is he even good in bed or does he just flounder around there too? Really, Daehyun, you should be with someone better." Youngjae paused, leaning against the wall a ways off from the open door to the room they were in. Whoever this girl was, Youngjae wanted to scream at her.

"He's not like that, Naeun." Daehyun's voice replied, quick and cold. "He's just easily controlled. He likes being controlled— too much decision-making makes him nervous. So at school I have little, easy rules for him to make him feel better and when we're alone he's very different. I think you're just trying to get with me."  
"When we were in high school you promised I'd be yours, Daehyun." Naeun answered, poutiness in her voice. "I don't think it's fair to me that you've found someone else." It was silent for a second, and when she spoke again, Youngjae could barely hear her voice. "Come on Daehyun, you know you miss me. I give the best head, remember? And I miss you and your giant cock." Youngjae felt awkward for her, those being such desperate words.

"So you're here because you're horny." Daehyun teased. He didn't sound taken aback. "And here I thought you were riding Zico when you needed it."

"I was." She said. "But you're so much better. Come on, cutie, forget about boring Youngjae and give me a taste."

"Once I let you suck me off, you're just going to want me to fuck you." Daehyun replied. "It's not fair for me to do that to Youngjae. He'd be heart broken."

"So?" Naeun asked.

"You have a good point." Daehyun answered. It was silent for a couple seconds and then Youngjae could hear Daehyun moan. "He is mine, but it's not like I'm his. Mm, I can do whatever I want and this is just—" Another moan cut off his words and Youngjae could guess what was happening. Daehyun always moaned a certain way when he was receiving head.

Youngjae wondered if he should be hurt that Daehyun was cheating on him. Didn't one normally feel hurt when their significant other was cheating? Youngjae couldn't find a fuck to give though. He didn't care. Maybe Naeun would convince Daehyun to break up with him, that would be wonderful. Maybe he would have been hurt earlier, but after what Daehyun had done to him today, any affection Youngjae could have had for him was gone. The only reason he could find to object to what was happening was that Daehyun didn't deserve the pleasure.

Youngjae started to sneak up the stairs while Daehyun was distracted, knowing that he wouldn't be seen so long as Daehyun didn't step out of the room and that Daehyun wouldn't step out of the room until the blow job was over.

A loud moan signalled the end of it, but the two didn't seem to stop there. "Come on, let me ride you." Naeun begged.

"Give me a good reason why I should." Daehyun challenged.

"Well, we both know you like it rough, but given how Youngjae is rarely limping, I'm guessing he doesn't let you have it your way very often. You can be as rough with me as you want, Daehyun, and admit it— I'm much prettier."

"I can't give you that one." Daehyun replied. "He's cute." Naeun shrieked suddenly as if Daehyun had done something and they both started laughing. "But you said I can have it my way." Daehyun's voice was low and sultry. "I'm sure Youngjae would appreciate you taking a couple of the rough rounds for him." There was a couple minutes pause, and Youngjae thought he could hear the faint sound of kissing. "Wait, when is class out?"

"Relax." Naeun sounded amused. "He won't be back for at least an hour, and that's if class gets out early."

Daehyun hummed like he was thinking. "But I'm going to want you more than once if I'm going to have you. Why don't we go back to your dorm to have our fun?"

"Let's." Naeun's voice carried through the dorm. Youngjae was quick to duck and hide in his room, waiting until he was sure they were both gone before he snuck out again, peering around carefully to check. A maid was waiting outside his room, her face twisted with nervousness.

"He's gone." She said softly. "Are you going to be alright?" She was clearly concerned because Youngjae had heard Daehyun cheating, but he couldn't bring himself to care that Daehyun had. He gave he a miniscule nod before slinking off to Daehyun's room where he was supposed to be. It was hard to walk still, and he felt like his limp was undeserved. For the first time in a long time, Youngjae thought he did not deserve to be treated so poorly.

The sight of the bed he had been abused on sent him hobbling to the bathroom, throwing up the nothing in his stomach into the toilet bowl. The puke burned at his sandpaper thoat. He flushed it down and rinsed his mouth out. Back in the bedroom, Youngjae was careful to avoid looking at the bed.

He could feel Daehyun's hands on his skin even though they were not there. He could feel the pain shooting up his spine, the whips against his skin, and his stomach rubbing roughly against the edge of the bed. His mind fought desperately to pull away, to drown itself in a dissociative world. Already, it didn't feel quite real. He fought it as he sat himself down at the computer, quick to hack on and locate the video. He wrote a short amount of code to trick the search program on the computer to find any other videos anywhere on any of Daehyun's devices, pulling up each one and deleting them.

Daehyun had 6 different copies of the video itself on his computer, phone, and laptop, as well as several still images and a couple shorter videos of Youngjae doing things about his room. Those were more innocent, so he copied them onto a USB before deleting them along with everything else. He quickly typed out a code to search through word files and powerpoints for embedded videos, but the couple files it came up with did not contain the video of him touching himself.

He spent a full three hours combing through everything, grateful Daehyun had all his devices linked so he could manage it from one of them. Confident he had destroyed all copies of the video, Youngjae as quick to hobble out of Daehyun's room and into his own. Being away from triggers of the trauma that morning was relief enough, but Youngjae still felt the urge to scrub his skin off to rid the feeling of Daehyun's hands on him. He settled on taking a shower, scrubbing himself until his skin was red and irritated and the bruises covering him felt like stabbing knives.

Did he care that Daehyun had cheated on him? After everything Daehyun had put him through, did he really care?

He stood in the shower for a long time debating that question. They had technically been in a relationship for about five months, so he felt like he should care that Daehyun cheated on him. But he didn't, not at all. Daehyun had done so much worse than cheat on him, how could he care about something so little?

Youngjae did not love Daehyun, and he knew Daehyun did not love him. One does not do the things Daehyun had done to him to the person they loved. If someone treats you as crappy as Daehyun treated Youngjae, there was no love involved. Youngjae undestood that. Daehyun did not love him, so why should he be surprised that he had cheated? Youngjae did not love Daehyun, so why should he be hurt?

Like that, Youngjae came to the conclusion it didn't matter. He was going to request a trial tomorrow and leave anyway, and with the video gone, there was nothing Daehyun could do to harm him. If Youngjae remembered correctly, the rule was that Daehyun was not allowed at any point to videotape Youngjae without is consent, and the innocent videos he had copied from Daehyun's computer of him sleeping or changing should be enough to let him out of the relationship, right? And if he made it a trial, maybe he could convince them to keep Daehyun from hurting his family.

Maybe he couldn't. The idea that Daehyun could hurt is family resurfaced and Youngjae realized he had made a big mistake. Daehyun would kill him for this and he would fuck over his family too. His brother would be kicked out of school, his parents would lose their jobs, and their apartment would be gone.

How could he have forgotten? There was no escape. Daehyun would kill him for having deleted that video. He was going to be in so much trouble when Daehyun found out. But Youngjae couldn't go and undo it, he had made sure to destroy all traces of the video, even in Daehyun's recycle bin. There was nothing left of the video, and the moment Daehyun found out, Youngjae would probably be locked in the basement again for months.

He pulled out the heart hidden in his watch. Pink diamond. It had been massively expensive, no doubt. Perhaps if he got away, he could sell it and that would make enough to move himself and his famiily to some far off place where Daehyun couldn't find him. Perhaps Canada. He knew a lot of people that had moved to Vancouver, and imagined he could hide there with them as one of a million Youngjae Yoo's walking the streets.

Could he get away? Youngjae's heart was racing. He was so scared. He wished he had dropped out all those months ago, but at the same time he knew Daehyun would have followed him. Daehyun wouldn't have just let him go.

Daehyun was obsessed.

Youngjae's breaths were ragged as he felt the panic attack rising in his chest. He clutched the small gem heart in his hand and prayed for this to end. Would Daehyun hurt his family if Youngjae was dead? Probably not. Maybe that was the best option.

No.

No, Youngjae refused to give up on living. That stubbornness that made him stay made him want to stay alive. So long as there was hope he could get away from Daehyun, he would survive. Even if he lived to regret the decision, Youngjae was stubborn when his mind was set.

He was going to get away from Daehyun. He had no clue what the rules were or how to request a trial, but he was sure Daehyun had broken at least one of them, and he would figure it out from there. Anything to get away from him. Anything to escape the hell this dorm was.

Youngjae was sick of it all. He had to escape.

Daehyun was going to beat him to hell and back for deleting that video.

Tomorrow, he would get away. Tomorrow, it would be over.

He cried himself to sleep.


	19. Chapter 19

He woke up when the bed dipped, a warm arm slipping around his middle as Daehyun settled behind him. Youngjae wanted to puke. It wasn't okay for Daehyun to be touching him, and he could already feel the bile rising up in his throat. "Daehyun," He called gently, praying that if he was sweet about it he wouldn't get himself in more trouble than he was already in. "I'm feeling a little sick and I threw up earlier. Maybe for tonight you might want to not touch me. I don't want you to catch this." His sickness was nothing Daehyun could catch, but it would be alleviated the moment Daehyun was far away from him.

Daehyun responded by resting his hand against Youngjae's forehead. "I don't think you have a fever. You probably just ate something bad." Youngjae's plan clearly didn't work as Daehyun settled down next to him again.

"Please." He begged softly, trying to keep the puke from rising up. "Just leave me alone for tonight. I promise I'll give you anything you want tomorrow after school, just please give me a little bit of time to myself." Daehyun's grip on him got rougher and within a couple seconds Youngjae was running to throw up in the toilet.

Daehyun's footsteps followed after him. "You're still upset about the video." Daehyun stated. Youngjae was still puking as he spoke, so he had the advantage of not being interrupted. "I told you I would delete it and I already did." Liar. Youngjae wanted to scream. Daehyun must have not even tried, or he would have seen that Youngjae already got rid of any trace of it. "I don't think it's fair to me that I've done such a nice thing for you and you're acting so rudely to me."

"I just don't like being around people when I'm sick." Youngjae lied with a hoarse voice. He pulled away from the toilet, flushing down the vomit and getting himself a glass of water to wash away the taste. Daehyun wrapped his arms around Youngjae's middle and he could feel the puke rising up all over again. "So I'd prefer if you kept away until I'm better."

Daehyun glared at him, squeezing his sides roughly and whispering out a warning. "I deleted the copy of the video on my computer, not the one on my phone, Youngjae. I could still very easily send it out to everyone." He pulled out his phone as if to prove it, and Youngjae pulled out of his arms and slowly backed away, knowing Daehyun was about to find out what he had done. With all copies of the video destroyed, he knew he was going to be in big trouble.

He took off running the moment Daehyun looked up at him, only making it into the hallway before he was thrown against the wall. Daehyun pinned him there, his face twisted in anger and his grip as tight as it had been the night after the party. "What did you do?" Daehyun growled out. When Youngjae did not answer, he was lifted away from and thrown back into the wall. "What did you do?" Daehyun reiterated in a scream. "Which copies of it did you delete?" He demanded. "What about the other videos?" He added on.

"You promised you were going to delete them anyway!" Youngjae cried. He was smacked hard across the face.

Daehyun grabbed him by the hair and threw him a little farther down the opposite wall. Youngjae's heart was pounding as he debated what to do because it really seemed like Daehyun was ready to kill him. "We both knew I wasn't going to delete it!" He shouted. Youngjae was punched in the gut several times, until he felt like he might puke again. Another punch hit across his face, and he tasted iron in his mouth from the blood of his broken lip. "You stupid, worthless piece of shit!" Daehyun shouted. "Which copies of the video did you delete?"

"All of them." Youngjae panted out. "And every other video you had of me, and every still image you took. They're all gone. Every copy, destroyed. And if you want me to keep loving you, hell, if you want to keep having sex or getting head from me, you'll stop right now and leave me alone." He demanded. It had always worked in the past, threatening no sex or no love, he could only assume it would continue to work now that the video was gone.

"I can't fuck you if you're dead anyway." Daehyun replied. Before those words, that threat, could sink in, Daehyun already had his hands on Youngjae's throat.

That was it.

Daehyun was going to kill him.

He kicked his feet and struggled as much as he could, gasping for air that could not fill his lungs. He clawed at Daehyun's hands and tried to pry them away, but with no luck. "If being in love doesn't make you compliant, then I don't care if you love me, Youngjae. You're mine either way, I just thought you'd be easier to control like this." There was a pause, filled with Youngjae's desperate struggling and Daehyun's hands tightening around his neck.

"Hell, if you're so set on not having sex with me, I'll just tie you up and get what I want anyway. How would you like that, Youngjae? Because if you're going to be a whiny little bitch like this, I'm not going to reward you with any gentleness. We'll do it my way and my way only, do you really want that?" Youngjae shook his head as much as he could. His vision was dimming quickly and he felt completely lightheaded. "Honestly I almost like the idea better. I'd just keep you tied up and gagged on my bed. I could do whatever I wanted with you and just lock you in there alone when I'm done. I wouldn't even have to worry about hitting you too hard since you wouldn't be going in public anymore— no one would see the welts."

Youngjae's limbs felt heavy and he couldn't really fight much anymore. It was then that Daehyun loosened his hands so they were just resting in that dangerous position on his neck. Gasps and coughs filled the otherwise silent hallway as Youngjae tried to recover from what he had just been through. An oxygen high started to take over, leaving him half-lidded and barely conscious despite the adrenaline coursing through his veins.

"How do you feel about that?" Daehyun asked cruelly. "How about I tie you up and lock you in a little dark closet? I'll take you out when I want to get off and throw you back in when I'm done. Are you really thinking of resisting me now?" He challenged.

"So basically, I let you fuck me or you rape me." Youngjae accused. He got punched again several times for the comment. He went falling to the ground, curling in on himself in hopes of protecting his face but Daehyun just delivered harsh kicks to the stomach until he was spitting up some blood.

"You're mine!" Daehyun shouted. "You don't get a choice in this. You don't deserve a choice in this. You're a worthless piece of nothing— a stupid whore. And I'm so good to you. Who else would put up with you? Not only are you always acting like an ungrateful bastard— you're hideous, stupid, annoying, it's an actual pain to be around you, and you're not even good in bed! I thought maybe you'd look decent if I dressed you up and got you to lose some weight but you're still ugly! Who else would want you? Who else would be as nice to you as I am? You're so lucky to have me, but this is how you repay me?" He was kicked more, spitting up a couple more drops of blood as Daehyun's shoe drove right into his stomach and rib cage. It hurt to breathe— from his raw throat to his aching lungs.

He just wanted it to stop. He just wanted to live until tomorrow. "I'm sorry." He cried, hoping it would placate Daehyun. He was dragged up by the hair and thrown against the opposite wall, hitting his head as they neared the stairs.

"Do you think I care?" Daehyun shouted. "I don't want to hear you're stupid, obnoxious voice anymore. You're mine and if you misbehave then you lose your right to say anything. From now on, you can only speak when I tell you to and say what I tell you to say. If you're going to be a bad boyfriend and a bad pet, then you'll be my toy instead." Youngjae winced as Daehyun grabbed his wrist roughly, yanking the couple ring off his finger and pocketing it. His finger made a sickening pop as Daehyun yanked the ring off, and he screamed in pain. The movement had started to move downward and to the side before the ring was fully off Youngjae's finger so that not only was the finger popped out of it's joint, it was bent at an odd angle.

Youngjae tried to coddle his newly broken finger, crying as he clutched at his left hand. Daehyun was quick to pin him again though, eyes narrowed as his face neared Youngjae's. "Did I tell you that you could scream?" He asked, as if the reaction hadn't been involuntary. "Face the wall and stand still." He ordered.

A belt clinked behind him and Youngjae could guess what was going to happen next before the harsh sting of the first lash hit his skin. His back was already bruised from that morning, but now the lashes were harder. His skin burned and he bit his lip so harshly that it bled in order to suppress the cries of pain. By the time Daehyun had finished whipping him, Youngjae's shirt seemed to be sticking to his back. He could only guess it was sticky with blood.

Daehyun pushed up against him then, groping his crotch as he pressed up against Youngjae's ass. "You're mine and I get to do whatever I want to you." He insisted in a growl. "Now apologize."

"I'm sorry, Daehyun." He cried. He was whipped several more times.

"Try again." Daehyun ordered, his voice louder and more threatening.

"I'm sorry, Master." He was not whipped that time, but those rough, groping hands started up again, making the bile rise up in his throat faster than it had before.

"Tell me you love me." Daehyun ordered.

"I love you, Master." He lied.

Oddly enough, despite every other time Daehyun had punished him stopping there, this time Daehyun did not stop. He threw Youngjae into the opposite wall again, now on the very edge of the stairs. He barely gained his balance in time to keep himself from falling over the edge when Daehyun came and kneed him in the stomach. He was hit twice more across the face before he was shoved down the staircase.

His immediate reaction was to curl one arm around his head, the other straightening out to try to catch himself and stop from falling all the way. There was a loud snapping noise and a scream of pain, and a couple seconds later Youngjae was at the bottom of the stairs. More of the fingers on his left hand were at odd angles and his right wrist was stuck at one as well. Worse than that, his right arm was a bloody mess, the bone sticking out at one part near the elbow. He cried, unable to move that arm from its bent position or any of his fingers on either hand. He was in so much pain he was practically numb, bawling his eyes out as he sat as still as he could. He had hit his head on the way down, leaving him dizzy. He tried to open his eyes but he felt like he was seconds from passing out when he did, so he was quick to shut them again.

Footsteps came descending the stairs, but as they neared Youngjae, the doorbell rang. Daehyun was quick to shuffle him to the side, literally picking up Youngjae and moving him over. Youngjae guessed it would be so he was out of sight, but given that he was barely clinging to consciousness, he thought it better to not open his eyes and check.

He could hear the soft squeak of the door to the dorm opening, and a soft, brief shuffling of footsteps. "Sunggyu." Daehyun sounded less than happy at the unexpected visitor. "I'm sorry, now's a really bad time. I'm going to have to ask you to—"

"I'll be brief then." An unfamiliar voice answered. "May I come in?"

"I'm sorry, this is really a bad time." Daehyun answered. "Youngjae is sick, I need to get back upstairs to—"

"I see." Sunggyu interrupted again. "Well, again, I promise to be brief. I want to make a deal with you so that Hayoung is no longer the target."

"Well, it would be better if you came back later to discuss that." Daehyun answered. "I'd need Youngjae's opinion and he's very sick." The anger was clear in his voice and made Youngjae flinched a little. The moment Sunggyu was gone he knew that anger would be directed on him.

"I'm sure he can manage two seconds of thought." Sunggyu replied, annoyance clear in his tone as well. "It's been over a month since she was made target, isn't that enough? You can go ask if there's some condition he has, I'm happy to pay for whatever." Daehyun couldn't stop the little frustrated sound in the back of his throat, and after some simple, forced niceties, Youngjae heard footsteps going up the stairs.

He pretended to be passed out, hoping if Daehyun thought he was then he wouldn't do anything for a little while longer. The pain in his arm was pulsing as pacing footsteps neared him several times, but didn't quite reach him. On their last rotation there was a pause and a gasp. Light fingers touched his neck, pushing in as if looking for a pulse. Once they pulled away, the footstep started up again, trailing away from him. A minute or so later more footsteps came down the stairs and Daehyun announced, "Youngjae doesn't know quite what he wants yet. Give him the day to think it over and I'll have an answer for you tomorrow. He's a bit unreasonable though, since he really wants her to be the target."

"Really, that's what he said just now?" Sunggyu asked, though his voice sounded a bit shocked and scared rather than challenging.

"Yes, I just asked him." Daehyun lied.

"May I speak with him? I'm sure you're just frustrated and he can be reasoned with." Footsteps went towards the stairs.

"He's sick." Daehyun replied flatly. "I understand this is important to you, but Hayoung can stand one more day of being the target while Youngjae mulls it over. I think if you go bother him while he's not feeling well, though, you might find yourself in a worse scenario then she's in."

"Is that a threat, Daehyun?" Sunggyu asked. "I've asked Himchan before, he says he won't let you do anything to me."

"I'm not doing anything to anyone." Daehyun lied. "I'm simply telling you that Youngjae will be upset, and therefore less likely to give you what you want. Now, if you'll excuse me—"

"He'll be even more upset if I tell him about Naeun." Sunggyu answered.

It was silent for a couple seconds and Youngjae was beginning to grow worried that Daehyun would kill Sunggyu. "I have no clue what you're talking about." Daehyun said stiffly.

"In high school you promised her you'd be together one day. How will he feel if he thinks he's just an intermediate step between now and then?" Youngjae could imagine the relaxation Daehyun would immediately show, having no knowledge that Youngjae already knew he cheated.

"I've made my broken commitment with her known to him." Daehyun lied. "He knows the promises I had made and that I broke them because I had fallen for him. He understands that I won't be leaving him ever."

"How can he be sure of that when neither of you have taken the fall?" Sunggyu challenged.

"We're currently discussing that, actually." Daehyun lied, though his voice came out as high and mighty. "We can't agree on who should take it, and that's the only reason why neither of us has yet. I personally would like to take the fall since I consider us equals, but he seems set on figuratively belonging to me. I will probably agree to let him take it soon enough."

"I see." Sunggyu said, sounding unhappy. "I'm sure you will be happy once nothing can end your relationship, not even Himchan or a trial. Pass my well wishes on to Youngjae, I will be back tomorrow, with Himchan to be our mediator if need be."

"There is no need for that." Daehyun assured. "We'll work it out tomorrow, unless Youngjae is still sick."

They said their goodbyes and Youngjae stayed absolutely still as the door closed and footsteps approached him. There was a long pause before fingers lightly brushed against his broken arm, and Youngjae let out a pained whimper in response. He prayed this would be the moment Daehyun started to take care of him rather than hurt him worse. He understood the strategy well. Youngjae had once read that many abusers used this tactic, becoming sweet and gentle after their abuse to try to keep those they were abusing with them. The idea behind it was that the abused would justify the moments of abuse by saying they were just moments where their abuser lost control, because clearly the abuser was sweet all the rest of the time. However, Youngjae had no attachment to Daehyun, so his mind was just the slightest bit clearer. He knew these sweet moments were only there in hopes of keeping him in line. The Daehyun that abused him was the real one.

"Youngjae," Daehyun called softly, his hand resting on Youngjae's face. "Baby, wake up." He shook Youngjae's shoulder lightly and Youngjae's eyes fluttered open in response. The dizziness was still there, but he felt less like fainting. "You fell down the stairs again, baby." Daehyun lied. "Do you remember what happened?"

Youngjae wasn't sure if Daehyun just wanted him to lie or if he thought Youngjae had hit his head hard enough to forget, but he wasn't about to question it. "No." Youngjae answered. "Last thing I remember, I felt sick so I went upstairs to take a nap."

Daehyun smiled at him, kissing his forehead softly. "I just got home a little while ago and you were on the floor." He lied. "Your arm doesn't look so good." He cupped Youngjae's chin to prevent him from looking at the gruesome sight he had yet to see. "Don't look, it's not very pretty. I bet you hit your head pretty hard on the way down too. Do you remember what day it is?"

He wasn't sure what test this was, but Youngjae knew that with Daehyun it was always better to lie. "It's Wednesday, isn't it?" He lied, knowing it was Thursday. "The 11th of February?"

"You must of hit your head really hard." Daehyun said, his lips thinning. "It's Thursday, baby." Youngjae knew Daehyun was trying to figure out if he was lying or not, but Youngjae's mind was so hazy he had already partially convinced himself that everything that just happened was a dream, just so that his lies would be believable. "I wonder if you can remember anything from today. Hm, I showed you a video I took over Christmas break, do you know who was in it?"

"Was it that one of Jihyun and Hyuna singing?" Youngjae asked, referencing a video Daehyun had shown him not long after break ended of his sisters being silly.

"No, in this one they were dancing." Daehyun lied. "This doesn't look good. We should get you to a doctor."

"My head feels really fuzzy." Youngjae admitted. "I don't think I should move. Can you carry me?" Given that he had been begging for Daehyun not to touch him before, he guessed this would be a good enforcer of his lie. Daehyun was smiling again, so it must have done its job.

"I'll help you walk, but I might hurt you if I pick you up right now. A lot of your bones seem to be broken." Youngjae hid his relief as well as he could. It was only for the night, he would still try to get away tomorrow. He would do anything to survive, since it seemed ten minutes ago Daehyun planned on killing him. His touch still revolted Youngjae, but so long as he could stand it until lunch the next day, where Himchan would force him into a conversation to piss Daehyun off just like he did every day, he would be fine.

"Master is so good to me." Youngjae mumbled, just because he knew it would make Daehyun happy with him, and Daehyun being happy meant he wouldn't be nearly choked to death again.

He was so scared.

"Of course I am." Daehyun answered with a smile. "Come on, you can repay me later. For now, we should get you up and in the car." He pulled out his phone then, pecking Youngjae's head before he stepped away.

As they walked into a private clinic nearby, meant mostly for students of the school, Daehyun kept his arm firmly around Youngjae's shoulders. "Remember, Youngjae, you shouldn't lie to the doctor about your memory loss." Daehyun warned softly, as if he was a chiding boyfriend. "If you remember something from today, you should say you have memories from that time. So if your memory from this morning comes back, you would say?"

"I remember this morning? I wouldn't need to tell him what happened, right?" Youngjae asked. He knew what Daehyun was getting at. It was a double edged sword, really. Either he lied to the doctor and made his head injury seem worse than it was or he told the truth and Daehyun knew for sure that Youngjae was only pretending. At the moment, Youngjae could tell Daehyun was trying to figure out if he actually remembered what happened or not.

"Exactly. Good boy." Daehyun praised. He was noticed pretty much the moment he walked into the clinic, ushered by a group of nurses towards a private room. Daehyun stepped away then, calling, "I'm going to go work out any registering and payment details, you just go with them. You wouldn't want your parents to be billed, right?"

"Thank you." Youngjae called back before allowing himself to be lead off by the nurses. He was sat on one of ther weird table-like beds often found in doctor's offices and waited as they buzzed around him.

"What's your name?" One of the nurses asked.

"Yoo Youngjae." He answered.

"What happened?" She continued.

Out of the corner of his eye he took a quick assessment of the room. It was small and he could easily hear people in the hall and someone in the room next to him coughing. If Daehyun was near, he would hear what Youngjae said. The nurses might tell him anyway. It would be safer to lie. "I fell down the stairs." Youngjae replied. "I don't remember falling, but my boyfriend woke me up and said I had."

"Do you remember anything from today?" The nurse asked.

"No." Youngjae replied. "I think I remember getting home from school and going to take a nap, but I do that most days, so it's possible I just think I did because it's part of my routine. When I woke up, I thought I must have been sick because my mouth tasted like vomit. I thought it was Tuesday too. Please don't tell my boyfriend, I tried to make it look like I remembered more than I do when he asked me. I didn't want him to worry. Please don't worry him." Youngjae lied.

"Do you know what day it is now?" The nurse asked.

"He said it was Thursday." Youngjae answered. "But, I don't really remember anything from today. I think I remember watching movies with him yesterday, but maybe it was Tuesday. I don't know." He lied. That had been on Monday. Youngjae knew he would only end up looking better if Daehyun overheard his lie.

The nurse sighed. "Was it possible you were pushed, Youngjae?" She asked. She was probably suspicious of his injuries, which didn't all look like they could be from falling.

"No, if it's Thursday then I should have been the only one home. I might have been passed out on the ground for a while since Daehyun always gets back late on Thursdays. If it were earlier in the week, then maybe I could have tripped over a staff member, but Daehyun gave them a long weekend for Valentine's Day. They should have all cleared out yesterday."

There was a knock on the door and a second later Daehyun peered his head in. "Is it alright if I come in?" He asked the nurses. They said that it was fine and Daehyun took a seat on the chair in the corner.

"The doctor might insist on a CT scan with this amount of memory loss, Youngjae." The nurse warned. Youngjae gave a soft nod and pretended not to see the small smile crossing Daehyun's face in victory. That was all Youngjae needed to have happen in order for his lie to be believed. "A couple hours is in the normal range, but two days is rather extreme."

"Two days?" Daehyun asked suddenly, actual shock on his face. "You said you thought it was Wednesday!" He accused.

"You seemed really worried." Youngjae mumbled. "I didn't want to make it worse." Daehyun sighed, flopping back in his chair but not saying anymore as the nurse continued on. Youngjae knew he wasn't upset, he liked when he could have 'do-overs' after being too harsh. It was easier than trying to make it up to Youngjae.

"What hurts the worst?" The nurse asked.

"My head and my arm are about equal. I'm really dizzy and everything's pulsing a little, and when Daehyun woke me up I thought I was going to faint. I had to lay down on the way over because walking to the car had made it worse. My vision is pretty hazy and there are, like, little dots in it sometimes. It hurts whenever I try to turn my head too. As for my arm, I was told not to look but it definitely feels broken, and I can't move my fingers. I can't move some of the ones on my other hand, either." This he didn't lie about, there was no reason not to tell the truth.

The nurse asked him several more questions before she left to get the doctor. Daehyun came over then and sat behind him, his legs on either side of Youngjae and his arms around his middle. "You lied to me." He squeezed his sides and Youngjae winced. "Why don't you tell me what you remember? Starting from last night up until the soonest thing. That way I'll know if you're still lying or not."

"I didn't want you to worry." Youngjae lied again. "Last night we watched movies." He said, recalling Monday night instead of the actual night before. "I got annoyed at you because you wanted to watch movies until late. I said it was because we had to get up early for school and I didn't want to be tired, but really it's because whenever we watch action movies you get too into it and won't cuddle with me. Forget I said that." He put on his shy boyfriend act, knowing it was good to woo Daehyun. "When you realized I was annoyed, you decided we should, um, do stuff while we watched the movie and then I was too distracted to be annoyed. We woke up and went to school like normal, and when I got home I went upstairs to take a nap. When I woke up you said I had fallen down the stairs and took me here."

"That was Monday night." Daehyun said with a sigh. "It's Thursday." Youngjae could tell he was happy, though, so he didn't bother adjusting his lie. "You know, we probably have time for a little fun before the doctor comes in." His hand trailed down over Youngjae's crotch and Youngjae felt like he might puke almost immediately.

"Let's wait until we get home." He mumbled. "I don't want to risk someone seeing." It was more that he didn't want Daehyun's hands on him, but he'd happily pretend otherwise so long as it meant getting what he wanted.

"When we get home then." Daehyun pecked his neck. "I promise I'll be extra gentle since you fell down the stairs." He said sweetly. "I probably should anyway, we got a little rough this morning and last night, you seem to have a bunch of bruises and cuts from that as well."

"Thank you." Youngjae cooed sweetly, though he still felt like puking at the idea of Daehyun's hands on him. The doctor came in then, saying his arm would need surgery and they were going to put him under.

 

His right arm was in a cast up to his elbow, numbed by pain pills so he couldn't feel how badly it stung. Three of the fingers on his left hand were in splints, and he tried not to look at them because the were blues and purples and often swollen. The doctor had done a CT scan while he was under and concluded that his neck was fine and he did not have whiplash, even if his concussion was pretty bad.

Daehyun had been nothing but sweet and gentle with him, but Youngjae knew too much to believe his acting. He was with Youngjae in between every class, telling their classmates the horror of finding him passed out at the bottom of the stairs, and made sure everyone knew Youngjae had lost his memories of the past two days.

By lunch time, the entire school seemed to know what had happened, though a fair number of them seemed to stare at Daehyun with suspicion. Youngjae stayed quiet through all of it, letting Daehyun say whatever he wanted while he waited for lunch to come. Himchan always pulled him aside to chat towards the end of their lunch hour, just to piss Daehyun off. When he did, Youngjae would ask if he had grounds for a trial against Daehyun after the video, and ask how to make it happen.

Lunch was an anxious time. It was only ten minutes in and Youngjae was already struggling not to scream out for help. Daehyun had decided they didn't need to keep up their normal act anymore, and so he was constantly hanging on and kissing Youngjae. He wanted to puke. He couldn't even convince himself to eat despite having very little ood over the past two days. He didn't care so long as he got away from Daehyun. It was suffocating to even sit next to him after all he had done to him in the past day. His entire body hurt, and Daehyun's hands on him only cemented the sting.

The cafeteria was loud but orderly as always. Their table had a large crowd around it of people concerned about Youngjae, who remained quiet and cuddled into Daehyun's side despite how much it revolted him. Occasionally he would be prompted by Daehyun to say something or other, but mostly he followed Daehyun's normal rules for him.

It was maybe twenty minutes into the hour that Hayoung came into the room. Their classmates seemed to be generally nicer to her, letting her get her food and put it down before they started messing with her.

Youngjae was quick to look away, burying his face into Daehyun's shoulder as if he was scared of her. It was really that he couldn't stand seeing what they were doing to her. Everyone was careful, trying not to make it too real. It was clear they didn't want to. He could hear her crying.

"Daehyun, please, stop them." He begged in a whisper.

"Stop who, baby?" Daehyun replied in an equally low voice. He rubbed his hand up and down Youngjae's side as if to be comforting. He didn't hum though, he never hummed in public.

Youngjae nodded his head towards where Hayoung was. "I think she's been punished enough." He whispered.

"Not yet." Daehyun answered. Youngjae glared. He didn't want this to continue. She was crying louder by the minute, asking for them to stop. He could feel the glares on him, from people that thought he was the one who wanted it.

Youngjae was smart enough to know how to end it. Using social pressure could force Daehyun to stop them from hurting Hayoung. "Daehyunnie, please." He said loud enough for the crowd around them to hear. The entire cafeteria seemed to quiet down in shock that he was speaking so loudly. "Please stop them from hurting her anymore. I didn't ask you to do this to her— you know I don't like the target system."

"You wanted me to punish her." Daehyun replied, just as loud. "I don't know why you'd want me to stop it now."

"I asked you to keep her away from me, not to make her the target. You know I don't like this. All I'm saying is that she's been punished enough. You can stop them now." Youngjae insisted. The glares directed towards Daehyun and a hand gripped tightly at his side.

Daehyun didn't respond, instead standing up and walking over to the small crowd around Hayoung, who separated for him. "I think you all should hold off until after lunch ends, or take this somewhere else." Daehyun instructed them. "Some people may find it a little too disturbing to be around while they are eating. You can just take her out of the cafeteria if you are set on continuing."

"If Youngjae doesn't want me to be the target, then I shouldn't be." Hayoung said as her attackers moved away. "It's him who I've wronged, not you."

Daehyun slapped her with the back of his hand. Youngjae winced because he knew how much it hurt. "Him? You've wronged me more than you've wronged him!" Daehyun shouted. "He's mine and you had the audacity to touch him! You should know better than to touch what's mine, and you deserve this a million times over. So shut up and take it, or drop out! I don't care. He's mine, and this is what you get for trying to play with my toys."

By the end of Daehyun's litle tirade, Youngjae was crying. He was scared. Daehyun was going to punish him for acting out, for making a scene in public. "Youngjae, is everything alright?" Yongguk asked from across from him.

Youngjae didn't answer, pulling away and withdrawing in on himself. Daehyun was coming back then, ignoring Youngjae despite the fact that he was crying an everyone seemed concerned. "Youngjae—" It was Himchan who tried this time because he knew he could get away with it.

"He's fine." Daehyun snapped.

Daehyun was angry.

He was going to die.

Youngjae was shaking, his breath quickening as he sat on the cusp of a panic attack. Before anything else could happen, shouting came from the entrance to the cafeteria. "Himchan!" Min shouted. She was running in, stopping almost cartoonishly at the table. "I need a trial." She said.

Yongguk and Himchan looked at each other and Himchan sighed and stood to whisper in Min's ear. They whispered for a couple seconds before Min spoke again, now repeating words Himchan was whispering in her ear. Suzy was in the doorway. "I would like to call upon the heads of each grade for a trial. I apologize for any inconvenience. I shall be the plantiff, and my defendent shall be my girlfriend Suzy. My accusation is that she broke rule 2-A-1 by slapping me. My preliminary evidence is the current redness of my cheek. I assure that I have further evidence if this is not deemed enough. I promise to follow any ruling given by the coucil even if it is not what I wish. Thank you for your time." She bowed.

The cafeteria fell into hushed whispers of how bad it was, but Youngjae sat back in shock. A simple slap was enough to warrant a trial?

Daehyun's arm tightened around his shoulders.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am struggling with formatting for this chapter please read it here:
> 
> http://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/320321/20/

Daehyun wouldn't let go of Youngjae as the small crowd that contained the heads of each grade, as well as Suzy, Min, and a couple others, followed Yongguk and Himchan down the path to their dorm. Youngjae had never been in there before but it looked about the same as the dorm he shared with Daehyun, except reversed. Inside, Daehyun finally let go of him, but he could tell he was freaking out. Having Youngjae understand the rules, or at least know there was a rule against physical abuse, was dangerous to him. It didn't matter. He didn't know that, but it didn't matter. Youngjae could not stand another moment of him, and the moment the trial was over he would request his own. He could ask for help for his family if need be, it shouldn't be that hard for Himchan to bar Daehyun from doing anything.

They were lead to sit a living room, on couches surrounding a large coffee table. Min and Suzy were left to stand with Zico and Yoseob, although Youngjae still did not understand why they were there. "I call upon the heads, the bailiffs, the defendant, and the plaintiff to overhear the trial proceedings." Yongguk said. "As the oldest of the heads, I will act as the president of this committee. Our plaintiff is Min. Our defendant is Suzy. Our bailiffs tasked with watching them during the trial are Yoseob and Jiho." 

"Hand over your phones, we will return them at the end of the trial." Yoseob said. He and Zico collected all of Min and Suzy's things, putting them in a small box and leaving it in the corner of the room before escorting them out of the room. 

"Jiho and Yoseob will keep the both of them from having any contact with anyone, including each other, until the trial is over." Yongguk told the people left in the room. "Now, we need to do a brief role call and we'll get this done. The heads of each grade will be listed, if needed a name may be listed twice. Suzy and Min will be listed even though they will not participate. Kibum will be listed even though he is not here. For the first years— Suzy, Daehyun, Youngjae. For the second years— Jieun, Naeun, Min. For the third years— Sunggyu, Kibum, Sunggyu. For the fourth years— Himchan, Himchan, Yongguk." Yongguk paused after saying his own name.

There were seven people in the room. Daehyun and Youngjae shared the couch closest to the door. To their left were Jieun and Naeun and to their right was Sunggyu. Youngjae had never actually seen him before, but he knew everyone else in the room so he could guess who he was. Yongguk and Himchan sat across from them.

"Any rules given within relationships regarding how to act in public are null until the end of the trial." Yongguk said, and Youngjae guessed that meant he was allowed to speak for himself for the duration of the trial. He whispered to Daehyun to ask if it was the case and received a pouty nod in return. "Now, we will have both parties of the trial come in individually to make their pleas and/or claims as well as suggesting their solution. We will then work within those solutions to make two rule-abiding, beneficial plans and vote between them."

There was a small pause while they waited for one of the two girls to come from where the had been taken upstairs. Daehyun offered his arms to Youngjae like a pouty, clingy toddler, but Youngjae refused him. He could see the slight panic in Daehyun's eyes growing in response, terrified of what that rejection could mean. "Does your arm hurt too much to cuddle?" Daehyun whispered, looking for some sort of positive explanation.

"Yeah." Youngjae lied. He didn't want Daehyun to touch him, but he also didn't want Daehyun to know what he was planning until after this trial ended. That way Daehyun wouldn't be able to do anything to his family.

Min came in then, calm but in a way that made her look angry. The first thing she did was present further evidence of her claims. She asked Yongguk to play the security video of the library during the first ten minutes of lunch. On the TV, there was a silent video of Min and Suzy arguing, and a couple minutes later Suzy raised her hand  and slapped Min across the face. Min paused, looking confused and alarmed, and then went running out of the library. "This is my evidence." Min stated. "My solution would be to break Suzy and I up. I do not care what happens passed that, just end our relationship for good. Thank you." She bowed and exited, and then Suzy entered.

"Suzy, you have been accused of physical abuse in the form of a slap, how do you plead?" Yongguk asked.

"Guilty." Suzy answered without hesitation. "I will admit that I hit her and I recognize that that was wrong. My solution would be to break up Min and I. The rules say there must be some form of tying-up-ends beyond that, so I suggest that you instead have Daehyun claim me and then have Youngjae claim Min. These are optimal pairs based on wealth, general tastes in clothes, music, etc., and focus within school." Youngjae perked up suddenly. Suzy's plan was perfect! Well, perfect besides him ending up with Min since he was gay, not bisexual. But, if Suzy's plan won, he would not belong to Daehyun anymore without directing any animosity towards him, so it was arguably the best option.

Suzy was ushered out and Himchan went digging through a small pile of papers. "She's right. We can't just break them up and leave it at that. The rules have a section about resolving tense situations. We either have to push one of them into a new relationship or make one of them the target. Min's plan doesn't do either so it's not valid currently."

"So, add making Suzy the target to Min's plan." Yongguk told Jieun, who seemed to be in charge of writing up the plans.

"I don't think that's the best idea." Himchan said, his voice holding his reluctance. "I feel like we can resolve this without making anyone the target. Min and Suzy are both high up on the social ladder— if we make either the target it could cause social chaos."

"I think we should make Min the target, not Suzy." Daehyun spoke up. "She's the one who dragged us here for a trial over something so stupid. She got slapped, so what? It's her fault clearly, she looked like she was provoking Suzy in the video and she's been being disobedient and rude for several months now. Suzy had all right to slap her and we should punish her for stirring up trouble over nothing."

The room went silent and everyone but Youngjae stared at Daehyun in shock. To Youngjae, however, that was an entirely normal thing for him to hear Daehyun say, so he didn't mind. "I'm with Himchan." He cut in. "I feel like we can resolve this without making anyone the target. Perhaps we could put Suzy or Min with someone who isn't in a relationship." He suggested.

"I'm with you two." Jieun said. "I don't feel like we need to make anyone the target out of this, especially since there's a target currently. If we make one of them a target, Hayoung isn't anymore. We need to keep that in mind."

"So either make Min or Hayoung the target. Min for causing a fuss over nothing or Hayoung for sexual harassment." Daehyun argued.

"Let's make Min the target." Sunggyu cut in. "Or Suzy. I don't care which. Suzy kind of deserves it, but either way."

Youngjae really wanted to protect the both of them, so he was quick to cut in next. "Sunggyu, do you want make someone else the target just so Hayoung won't be anymore?" Sunggyu said that that was the case. "Can't we just add something to each plan that says she isn't the target anymore? Then, you can vote based on your opinion on the case itself. Plus, then we can find a solution that involves no one being made the target."

"I second the motion of adding 'Hayoung is no longer the target' to all possible plans, including future ones." Sunggyu said.

"Third." Naeun, who had been silent until then, added. "Add it into the plans." She told Jieun, who did. Yongguk paused the trial for three seconds to send out the text saying Hayoung was not the target anymore, at least not until the end of the trial. Daehyun was glaring at Youngjae. "So are we moving on from making someone the target?" Naeun asked.

"I think so." Himchan replied. "We pretty much all agree it's not ideal."

Yongguk leaned over to Himchan then while everyone was trying to figure out another solution. He whispered just loud enough for Himchan to hear him, but no one else could. "Are you a little suspicious? Because I'm a little suspicious right now."

"Of what?" Himchan asked, although he thought he already knew.

"Daehyun doesn't seem to have any qualms about abuse, does he? Youngjae was crying all of yesterday and he came in today with a broken arm. If you watch, whenever Daehyun comes near him he flinches a little, and when Daehyun touched him, he looks like he might puke." As if timed, Daehyun placed a hand on Youngjae's knee as he whispered something to the younger. Youngjae visibly flinched and gagged. "See?"

"It's not the first time Youngjae has come to school limping or otherwise injured." Himchan whispered back. "Let's keep an eye on them, if we get really suspicious I'll ask for a recess and we'll talk to him." Yongguk pecked his cheek but the rest of their conversation was cut short.

"You're right." Jieun's voice was loud where she had previously been whispering to Naeun. "Everyone, Suzy's plan technically contains Min's. Min's entire solution is to break them up, which is part of Suzy's solution. So, rather than trying to make Min's plan, uh, legal, why don't we scrap it for a new one? That way we aren't arguing over how to fix two plans that are essentially the same thing."

"Seconded." Naeun said.

"Third." Himchan agreed. "I think, typically in cases like this, the secondary plan is usually to switch who has power in the relationship. Proposal for a second plan in which Min is given power in their relationship. There will still be a sub-clause that Hayoung is not the target."

"Seconded." Daehyun said.

"Third." Sunggyu said.

"This is a much better plan." Daehyun was quick to argue. "It isn't fair to break up Youngjae and I just because they've messed up. Youngjae and I are happy together. It would make more sense to go with this new plan since it doesn't ruin any existing couples."

"I get that you really like him and all," Himchan argued back, "but that might not be the best plan, Daehyun. It might make social sense to break them up and tie them off in other relationships. Remember, social contract is more important than love." Both he and Yongguk noted the way Youngjae flinched when Daehyun growled next to him. He scooted away just the slightest bit and whimpered a little when Daehyun wrapped an arm around him and pulled him back.

"You're not breaking us up!" Daehyun shouted, and Youngjae next to him whimpered loud enough for the rest of the people in the room to hear.

"Youngjae?" Jieun asked.

He was quick to recover and pretend nothing was wrong. "I don't think you should keep Suzy's plan the way it is." He was quick to say, seeming to relax as Daehyun relaxed. "If nothing else, then because I'm not bi. It doesn't makes sense to force me to claim a girl when I don't like them. At least remove the part where I have to claim Min. We only need to put one of them in a relationship after all. Maybe instead we could add a provision saying people can't claim her. Like, if you want to be with her you have to ask her out like a normal person."

"I like that plan." Himchan said. "And of course, if you're solely gay, we'll remove that bit where you have to claim Min. Jieun, go ahead and change that to what Youngjae said, unless there are any objections."

"How could you even consider a plan that involves us breaking up?" Daehyun shouted at Youngjae. "What are you thinking?" Youngjae whimpered again, high pitched and scared. He had shrunk away from Daehyun and it was pretty clear he was about to cry. The room froze around them. Youngjae was scared. He was so scared of Daehyun still. It wouldn't matter if he had a way out of the relationship if Daehyun killed him before he could leave. He was worried if he kept supporting Suzy's plan, he wouldn't live to see it enacted.

"I'm going to request a recess." Himchan blurted out after a brief look at Yongguk.

"Granted." Yongguk replied before anyone could comment. Everyone seemed suspicious and a little bit on edge. There was a slight pause as everyone tried to work out silently, and without Daehyun knowing, how to get Youngjae away from Daehyun so they could talk to him.

"Daehyun, I think we should take this advantage to work out what you want with the Hayoung situation." Sunggyu said, being just as pushy as he had been the day before. "You can reject that proposition, of course, since she won't be the target either way, but I'm prepared to offer you retribution anyway." Daehyun nodded and Sunggyu took Youngjae's spot so they could discuss.

"Youngjae, as the youngest we need you to take the secretary role." Himchan lied. "Come with us to the kitchen and we'll explain what we need you to do. It shouldn't take very long."

Youngjae looked at Daehyun for permission, and when nodded on he went. He was hyperventilating as he was dragged off towards the kitchen. Outside the room, though, he started resisting against them a lot, whimpering and begging them not to take him in there. Despite being confused, the two dragged him off to a library instead, hoping it would be more agreeable to the hysterical student. Youngjae was shaking and crying. He had curled up in on himself as much as his broken arm would let him. The moment the door had closed, Yongguk was pulling Youngjae into his arms and shushing him.

It took a good ten minutes before Youngjae was even marginally calmer. No matter what they did, he didn't seem to calm down. "You have to hum." Youngjae mumbled nervously. "Daehyun conditioned me to relax when he hums. It's hard to calm down without it." Youngjae hummed the tune for them, and Yongguk hummed it back, trying to ignore the way Himchan was seething next to him.

"He conditioned you?" Himchan practically shouted when Youngjae was calm. Yongguk shushed him. "You're telling me Daehyun trained you like a dog?" He asked in a softer, but still outraged, voice.

"Yeah." Youngjae answered.

"Oh my fucking god." Himchan whined. "What the fuck is wrong with him? You can't just do that to another person! I mean, you're a fucking person, not a dog!" Yongguk shushed Himchan again, calm but equally angry. "Has he hit you, Youngjae?" Youngjae didn't answer. Daehyun would kill him if he found out. He was going to be in so much trouble. "Youngjae, answer me. Has Daehyun hit you before? Has he hurt you?" Youngjae wouldn't answer.

"He's clearly scared shit-less." Yongguk cut in, putting a hand on Himchan's shoulder. "Hold on, I have a better idea." He pulled away, going to dig through a drawer until he found what he was looking for. It was a couple sheets of paper with an outlining of the rules on it. "Youngjae, have you ever seen these before?" He asked. Youngjae shook his head. "Are you sure? Suzy should have given it to you on your first day here. Did she give you anything about the rules? Or did she just list a couple?" He asked.

"She listed a couple." Youngjae answered.

Himchan pulled out of the room for a minute with the words, "I'll go ask her why." 

"Alright, Youngjae." Yongguk said while he was gone. "I'm going to assign you a task to do while we finish up the trial. We are going to tell everyone it's secretary work for the trial. Himchan is going to switch places with you on the couches, okay? You're going to sit next to me and Daehyun is going to sit with Himchan. We won't let him near you until you finish the task and we won't let him know what you're doing." Youngjae debated for a couple seconds whether or not he actually trusted Yongguk and Himchan. Daehyun often discussed how Himchan was an actual threat to their relationship because he wanted to spite Daehyun, so Youngjae decided he could trust them.

"Okay." He mumbled. "What do you need me to do?"

Yongguk handed him the copy of the rules. "These are the rules for a relationship like yours and Daehyun's. You'll see it listed as a 'standard claiming' as opposed to a 'whore claiming'. So, you're going to read through these 'standard claiming' rules, okay? Here are three highlighters. If Daehyun has broken the rule once, highlight it green. Green means he has done it to you once. If he has broken the rule more than once, but you don't think it was very often, highlight it yellow. Let's say twice to ten times. If he has broken the rule 2-10 times, highlight it yellow. If he has broken it constantly, at least once every two weeks or so, highlight it pink. Is that clear?" Yongguk asked.

"Yeah." Youngjae answered. "I can do that. He won't know?"

"I promise he won't know what you're doing." Yongguk promised.

Himchan came in then. "Suzy was under strict orders from Daehyun." He said. "Daehyun forbid her from giving any of the scholarship students the rules. She was under the impression that he gave the rules to them. I texted the scholarship student they had their senior year and she said she never received a copy as well. It seems he's been blocking people from getting the rules."

"That is a rule infraction in itself." Yongguk grumbled. "He's allowed to take over handout duty, but it is required that each student receive a copy of the rules so that they know their rights." He and Himchan whispered for a couple seconds before telling Youngjae it was time to head back to the trial.

They lead him back into the living room that everyone was gathered in. Naeun and Jieun looked to be gossiping in the corner. Jieun looked completely outraged and Naeun, a little sheepish. Himchan went over to whisper to the two of them. Their faces changed to shock briefly, and then they followed Himchan back to the couches. Youngjae was dragged by the hand to sit next to Yongguk, immediately engrossing himself in his highlighting so he wouldn't have to meet the glare on Daehyun's face.

Youngjae was a little heartbroken when he read over the rules. Daehyun hit him on that first day. That first day he could have gotten out of the relationship, but he had been deprived any knowledge of that. How many of these rules had Daehyun broken? Youngjae was pretty sure it was all of them. He used the pink highlighter the most often too, to make it worse. All of these awful things had been constant.

How was it fair that he had had to endure so much? He felt stupid, completely stupid for not speaking up sooner. At the same time he understood why he hadn't spoken up and why he hadn't fought back. Daehyun had made Youngjae think he was vulnerable, stuck with whatever treatment Daehyun gave him. He had made Youngjae think that it was comply or die, literally. Youngjae had thought Daehyun would kill him if he fought back or told anyone about what was going on. He was still somewhat sure that Daehyun would find out about what he was doing and kill him anyway. Or maybe he'd drag Youngjae out by the hair for no reason other than his support for Suzy's plan, and then he'd be killed.

Youngjae did not want to die. 

The room was silent and tense, and it felt like everyone's eyes were on him. When he looked up, Yongguk was steadily not looking at him, staring at Himchan as if he was the only thing keeping him sane in this situation. Youngjae could guess the both of them were only calm because people were around, because he caught them often looking like they were on the edge of flipping out only to be calmed by the other. Whether it be a hand on the shoulder or a glance, they seemed to be trying to calm each other in order to keep the situation under control. Himchan was much the same, staring straight at Yongguk as if no one else was in the room. Youngjae almost felt bad for separating them.

He would have felt worse if it weren't for Daehyun's steady, venomous glare. He seemed to be more angry at Yongguk and Himchan than at him, but Youngjae was still terrified. The only reason he hadn't finished beating Youngjae to death the night before was because he was under the impression that Youngjae remembered none of it and was about to go back to being easily controlled. That was the whole reason Youngjae was alive, and he recognized that. He was scared. Daehyun was a ticking time bomb, ready to kill him at any moment. He had already tried to choke him to death once.

Sunggyu was looking at him with sympathy. Youngjae knew Sunggyu knew, and having looked over the rules of who could declare a trial, he could guess why he hadn't said anything. Sunggyu had seen him all broken and bloody the night before. He kept silent only because he was not allowed to ask for a trial for Youngjae. Only someone with a claim over Youngjae or Youngjae himself could ask for a trial for him. Sunggyu probably recognized that if he spoke up, it would only make things worse for Youngjae and worse for Hayoung.  His silence was the only thing he could do to help, and so all he did was give that look. It was one of sad sympathy, and of defeat. He knew what was going on and he knew he couldn't help.

Naeun was constantly staring at him, but when Youngjae went to meet his eye, she looked away. She looked ashamed as she tucked her hair behind her ear and stared down at her hands. Youngjae did not dislike her. Daehyun's cheating only gave him more grounds to end the relationship. 

Jieun was the one that looked totally shocked and dismayed. Youngjae had doubted he had a friend in her, since her relationship had been ended for a little while because of him. And yet, the way she looked at him was the way you you would look at someone you cared about who had been hurt. She cared about him? Youngjae could not believe that anyone, much less her, gave a shit about him.

"I think we are nearing the time we need to vote." Yongguk said softly. "And moreover, I think we can all agree Suzy's plan is beneficial. It would be irresponsible of us to allow a known or suspected abusive relationship to continue at any extreme." It was clear he was picking his words carefully. There was that double meaning to his words, it wasn't just irresponsible to force Min and Suzy to continue to be together, it was irresponsible to want Daehyun and Youngjae to stay together as well.

"It's not fair!" Daehyun's voice raised. "Why do Youngjae and I have to break up? Why not just sell Suzy to someone else and let me continue on with my life?" Youngjae flinched the littlest bit and Yongguk rubbed his back. He stopped when it was clear that even that light touch was painful to Youngjae.

"In high school you were rather keen on being with her or with Naeun." Himchan answered. "I don't see why she is suddenly such an unacceptable alternative."

"Because I love Youngjae!" Daehyun shouted. Something dawned on him and he grew excited very quickly. "Youngjae." He said sternly, drawing his attention. Youngjae put his highlighting down for a second or two, hiding it behind him when Daehyun approached and kneeled in front of him. "I love you." It sounded more like an order than a statement, and not at all like the plea it was. Youngjae recognized that Daehyun was trying to do the 'I love you' ritual so that they would not be able to end the relationship. He guessed that Daehyun thought the equal power would be enough to convince Youngjae to say yes.

"Youngjae, take proof." Yongguk instructed. Youngjae needed to debate it first. Would Daehyun continue to be awful to him even if he did this? If he didn't and Daehyun got his way, then surely when they got home that night Daehyun would make good on his promise to lock Youngjae in his closet and use him like a sex toy. But, if he said yes and Daehyun got his way, then would the abuse continue? Would he be raped again?

Probably.

Youngjae realized that no matter the power change this would supposedly bring, Daehyun would still try to control him. The only difference would be that if he said yes, he would have no means of escape. No trial could end their relationship. No matter how many times Daehyun tried to kill him, the relationship could not end.

He looked down at Daehyun kneeling in front of him, his hands held by Daehyun's. His eyes were full of hope but also full of warning. If this didn't work out, he would be killed. Youngjae told himself  _it's not worth living if I'm not in charge of what I do and who I am_. At the same time, he didn't want to put his life in danger if he didn't have to. He needed some happy medium besides flat out saying no and flat out saying yes. Yes was risky because Daehyun might not treat him any better and he'd have no means of escaping the abuse. No was risky because Daehyun might kill him for it.

"We're equal in these moments, are we not?" He asked. "Like we would be if I were to accept. Equal." He was stalling as he tried to come up with a plan, and suddenly one dawned on him. 

"Yes, right now we're equals." Daehyun answered softly.

If they were equals, then when Youngjae said what he was about to say, Daehyun would laugh it off. If they were not equals, he would yell or hit Youngjae. In short, Youngjae would be able to tell if the abuse would stop or not. All Daehyun had to do was stay calm. "Daehyun, I want something." He said in the same cutesy voice he always did when asking for something, despite how much it embarrassed him to talk that way in front of others.

"I'll get you anything you want, baby." Daehyun promised. It was probably the only promise he never broke. "What do you want?"

"Your heart." Youngjae said, his voice steady. Someone in the room made an 'aww' noise.

"Well," Daehyun said with a small smile. He carefully undid Youngjae's watch, pulling out the heart inside and presenting it. "I've given it to you once, but I'll happily give it to you again. Like I said, anything you want."

Youngjae put the heart down on the large coffee table. "That's great and all, but I want the real thing."

"What?" Daehyun asked.

"Call a doctor." Youngjae challenged. "I want your heart." All Daehyun had to do was not get angry. Youngjae's voice was light and joking, and it seemed everyone else in the room understood the challenge. If Daehyun was willing to take out his phone and call the doctor, not even ask for anything, then his proposition would be accepted. If he refused, Youngjae would reject him. There was a soft laughter in the room, and Youngjae even winked to show he wasn't serious. It was obvious.

Daehyun's face hardened. "This is no fucking time for jokes, Youngjae." He shouted. "Come up with something serious!"

"I'm being serious." Youngjae answered. "Call a doctor and I'm all yours. They don't even have to cut it out, I just want to see it." His face stung and his head whipped to the side. Daehyun had slapped him. The room went silent, full of concern and confusion. There was nothing they could do unless Youngjae asked for a trial.

"Stop being ridiculous, you stupid piece of shit! This is why no one likes you!" He shouted.

Youngjae cut him off before he could say more. "I was right. You're obsessed with control, Daehyun. We would never be equal. I'll give you one last chance. Call a doctor. Ask them to cut open your chest. I want to see the hole where it should be, since I'm pretty sure you don't have one." Yongguk stopped Daehyun from hitting Youngjae again. "Rejected." He said calmly to reject Daehyun's love proposal. He was either going to die or get out of this relationship. He had burned all of his bridges.

"What?" Daehyun shouted.

"Sit back down." Himchan ordered. "We have a trial to finish. After that little display, though, I think our plan of action is clear."

"You saw him!" Daehyun whined. "He deserved it."

"No one deserves to be hit, Daehyun." Jieun cut in quickly. "No matter what, you don't get the right to hit people without blame." She seemed angry beyond belief, and Youngjae worried she had some history with this kind of thing, He would question her about it later if he was alive to do so. 

They continued to yell at each other for a little while and Youngjae decided to zone out into his highlighting in order to avoid the panic attack boiling up in his throat. Right as it got to be too much, he finished his task and handed the sheets to Yongguk to be reviewed. "This is everything he's done?" Yongguk shouted suddenly and before Youngjae could comment he was going running at Daehyun. It was clear he intended to punch him, only stopped by Himchan.

"Baby, hitting him won't fix anything." Himchan told him as he pushed space between the two. "Sunggyu, hold Daehyun back while we figure out how the fuck to deal with this." He picked up the list then, and after the brief explanation of what the colors meant, he dropped it. Jieun and Naeun both looked next and were quick to put themselves between Daehyun and Youngjae as well. "Youngjae, you need to ask for a trial. We can get you out of this, okay? Nothing will happen to you, nothing will happen to your family, nothing will happen to your friends. I promise we will keep him from doing whatever he has threatened to do."

Youngjae gulped, about to answer when Daehyun cut him off. "They won't be able to stop shit, Youngjae. By tonight, you'll have taken the fall since you rejected me, and then you will be paying me back for the annoyance you have been today. Don't be stupid."

"I'm scared," was all Youngjae managed.

"I'll declare a trial for him." Yongguk said.

"You can't." Daehyun grinned in victory. "Only he or I could declare a trial for him. You have no claim over him so you can't. And better yet, you're with Himchan, so you can't have any claim over him without breaking the rules yourself."

"Himchan." Yongguk said suddenly. "I already took the fall. If you take it too, you'll be allowed to break up with me for 24 hour time periods. You could claim him and ask for a trial."

"I don't want to take the fall." Himchan answered, pain on his face. "I don't want that kind of power over you."

"Himchan, this isn't about us." Yongguk replied. "When is it ever? I only took the fall to keep your dad from separating us, doesn't this sound a little more noble? A little less selfish? I know you wouldn't hurt me, I know you wouldn't cheat on me, and I know you wouldn't use the power for anything more than to help Youngjae. I trust you. So, even if neither of us wan it to be this way, it has to be. Either we do this, or he goes home with Daehyun tonight. It won't just be a broken arm the next time we see him either. That is, if there is a next time we see him."

"Youngjae, do you feel like your life is in danger around him?" Himchan asked.

"He tried to kill me last night." Youngjae answered in a soft mumble.

"You said you didn't remember that!" Daehyun accused, but it was too late. His shouts were more of an admission of guilt than anything else. Everyone could tell that Youngjae was telling the truth.

"Himchan." Yongguk sounded very forceful with his words. "I love you."

Himchan gulped. If he said he loved Yongguk back, he was essentially getting total power over Yongguk. "I love you too. Take your proof." He replied, clearly not happy about it.

"You haven't kissed me in front of other people since you claimed me." Yongguk said. "Kiss me and it's done with." The kiss was brief and sad, even to the onlookers. Neither of them wanted this, but it was the only way. "Accepted." Yongguk mumbled. With that, Himchan was allowed to break up with Yongguk with no retribution, so long as they got back together within a day.

"We're broken up." Himchan said, sounding a bit heartbroken. "Hold Youngjae down, I have a feeling he won't like this." Youngjae tried to scramble away but sure enough Yongguk pinned him down. Naeun was keeping a close eye on Daehyun, who was still being held back by Sunggyu, but Jieun had come over with the both of them to try to shush Youngjae.

Himchan's lips met his neck briefly. It was soft and gentle, unlike when Daehyun had done the same. "I'm allowed to do that because I have more power than you and Youngjae has not broken any rules." Himchan declared. "Naeun, go get Suzy, Min, Zico, and Yoseob. I need at least ten people to declare a trial."

Naeun went running off and Daehyun relented, although his hands were still balled into fists as he glared. Yongguk pulled off Youngjae and instead pulled the sobbing boy into his arms, humming that tune Youngjae had taught him until Youngjae calmed down. They could see the way it made Daehyun's face harden, how dare Youngjae teach his trick to someone else?

"You can call this off." Daehyun pleaded as Naeun returned with the others. "Youngjae, if you tell them no then the trial will be off. I'm not even mad anymore, I promise."

"Suzy and Min's trial has been placed on hold until after a different trial." Yongguk declared. "On the grounds that this trial is a matter of life or death."

"What did we miss?" Suzy asked in confusion.

Himchan handed her the rules list and explained what it meant briefly. "So, I took the second fall, Yongguk and I are broken up for a little while, and I've claimed Youngjae as my whore. Now, if you'll excuse me. I would like to call upon the heads of each grade for a trial. I apologize for any inconvenience. I shall be the plaintiff in place of my whore. Youngjae, and my defendant shall be his boyfriend, Daehyun. My accusation is that he broke any rule highlighted on this rule sheet. Green means the rule was violated once. Yellow means it was violated a couple times. Pink means it was violated constantly. My preliminary evidence is that most of us just saw Daehyun slap him, and I trust that that is enough. I promise to follow any ruling given by the council even if it is not what I wish. Thank you for your time."

Min gulped, taking the rules list from Suzy to read over what had been done.

`The following are the rules for standard claiming. A violation of any of these rules is grounds for the relationship to end.`

> `1. Adultery, as defined as the following:`
> 
> `A. Having sexual relations with another person without consent of the claimed`
> 
> `B. Having romantic relations with another person without consent of the claimed`
> 
> `C. Claiming a 'whore'`
> 
> `D. Claiming another person in a standard claiming`
> 
> `E. Dating or otherwise seeing another person while in a relationship`
> 
> `2. Abuse, as defined by the following:`
> 
> `A. Physical Abuse`
> 
> `1. Slapping, hitting, punching, kicking, spanking, etc.`
> 
> `2. Hitting with a weapon`
> 
> `3. Pushing, shoving, especially when in places where one might fall (i.e. pushing down the stairs)`
> 
> `4. Cutting skin with knife or other sharp object, anything that will make someone bleed`
> 
> `5. Any act resulting in physical harm, intentional or not`
> 
> `6. Choking, shooting, stabbing, or otherwise trying to murder/maim`
> 
> `B. Sexual Abuse`
> 
> `1. Unwanted sexual advances`
> 
> `2. Any sexual act without consent (including but not limited to: if consent was given and then taken away, if consent was conditional and conditions were not met, if consent was NOT VERBAL, if either party was drugged or otherwise not sober, if either party was unconscious, etc.)`
> 
> `3. Video taping of sexual acts/sex without permission`
> 
> `4. Parts of sexual acts were not consented to (i.e. tying someone up without permission, sexual acts done in public, etc.)`
> 
> `5. Lack of aftercare after possibly traumatizing sex`
> 
> `6. Quid pro quo (sex/sexual acts done as 'payment' for something else)`
> 
> `7. Sexual acts preformed because of blackmail`
> 
> `8. Rape (note: see above for when consent is not given. A general rule of thumb: if consent is not VERBAL, INFORMED, and ENTHUSIASTIC then consent is not given. If someone feels forced, consent is not given. If consent is not given, it is rape. No exceptions.)`
> 
> `C. Emotional Abuse`
> 
> `1. Trying to instill feelings of worthlessness, stupidity, or any other negative feelings toward self`
> 
> `2. Conditioning (i.e. training them to fear the sound of a bell)`
> 
> `3. Forcing them into a situation where they do not feel safe/comfortable`
> 
> `4. Making threats or otherwise trying to instill fear`
> 
> `5. Blackmail`
> 
> `6. Gaslighting (making one question their perceptions of reality) or denying ones perceptions of reality as true `
> 
> `7. Constant insults`
> 
> `8. Threatening to kill/harm oneself if a condition is not met (i.e. 'If you don't answer me I'll kill myself')`
> 
> `9. Trying to instill feelings that they are hated, constantly in danger, everyone is out to get them, etc.`
> 
> `10. Trying to instill feelings of guilt`
> 
> `11`.`Any other act that causes emotional harm, intentional or not`
> 
> `D. Neglect`
> 
> `1. Locking them in a secluded space for a prolonged period of time`
> 
> `2. Cutting of connections to friends/family or the outside world in general`
> 
> `3. Refusing access to letters or whatever the modern equivalent is`
> 
> `4. Depriving of food/water/amenities for basic needs (this includes forcing someone onto a diet)`
> 
> `5. Ignoring them for any prolonged period of time`
> 
> `6. Any other occurrence in which basic/social needs are not met (note: this does not count for sexual needs. If your sexual needs are not being met, take care of yourself.)`

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seriously, on aff the highlights are there and they're important so please at lease reread this last part on aff briefly to understand.
> 
> http://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/320321/20/


	21. Chapter 21

Himchan stood before them after they started the trial proceedings. Min and Suzy were under strict orders not to antagonize each other, although it seemed there was hope they could remain friends when all was said and done. Four more people had been called in as bailiffs after Yongguk decided that Jung Daehyun was too volatile to leave under the supervision of one. "I've been assured my evidence is good enough." Himchan told them. "At least for the violation of rule 2-A-1. All other evidence will have to be presented by Youngjae, if need be."

"Does anyone have any evidence?" Yongguk asked. "It will give us a stronger case if we have more than one thing to go off."

"I do." Naeun cut in before anyone could speak. She still looked ashamed, refusing to meet Youngjae's eye as if he was mad at her. "The list states rules 1-A was broken. I was the one Daehyun cheated with." She waited for the shock to set in. "I was talking with Zico about a week ago about how odd it was to see Youngjae so happy with Daehyun when before he looked miserable. Zico responded with a story from before the two were dating where Youngjae had run away from him in fear at the mention of Daehyun's name, despite the fact that he was actively helping him get away from attackers. We ended up discussing the possibility that Youngjae was still afraid, but was being forced to hide that fear while in public."

"So you got Daehyun to cheat because you thought Youngjae was afraid?" Yongguk asked. "I'm sorry, that makes no sense."

"No, that was like a week ago. The discussion just got me thinking. I started thinking that Youngjae might be looking for a way out of the relationship. I watched him closely for about a week for signs. It looked like he was always trying to get away from Daehyun, which only made me more suspicious. Then, yesterday, he came to school crying. He flinched whenever Daehyun touched him and he seemed like he was in a lot of pain. When I asked Daehyun what had happened, he told me it was family drama. If it was family drama, then why did Youngjae look like he was in so much pain? I made a split second decision. Daehyun may have found a way to work around the rules so he could hurt Youngjae, but there was no loopholes if he fucked me. So, I got him to fuck me, so if Youngjae wanted to get away I could give him ammo." Naeun's face was red.

"Thank you." Youngjae was the only one to reply, his voice soft but grateful. She seemed to be completely honest in her admission, and somewhat ashamed in her actions.

"I can vouch that he was forced into it!" Min said suddenly. "At the beginning of the year, Youngjae and I would often talk about how much he didn't like Daehyun and how he just wanted to be left alone. About a month into school, late September, Suzy and I paid him a visit in his room. Youngjae was fully aware Daehyun had made him the target in hopes of forcing him into the relationship, and Suzy and I were sent to convince him that going with Daehyun was the best option. Daehyun had sent us because he thought our classmates were about to give up on tormenting Youngjae, but we made it sound like they intended to continue because he said he would split us up otherwise. We were tasked with convincing Youngjae that if he were with Daehyun it would fix everything."

"Daehyun specifically ordered  _me_  to make Youngjae think he would have to pretend to be happy and in love." Suzy added. "He wanted Youngjae to pretend because he thought Youngjae would fall in love with him if he did. Daehyun threatened to bankrupt me if I did not help, and again if I told anyone what he had made me do."

It went silent for a minute or to as he stared at Suzy and Min in shock. They had tricked him. Before any of them could say anything, Jieun broke the silence. "I saw evidence of the quid pro quo. Daehyun had split Yoseob and I up for about a month, although at the time I was under the impression it had been Youngjae's doing. Without knowing it, both Yoseob and I went to talk to Youngjae at Daehyun's Christmas party. He beat me to it, and when Youngjae wanted to show me he had done what I wanted already, he showed me his phone. Daehyun had told him he would have to 'pay him back later' for the favor of letting us get back together."

It went silent again, this time for a whole half minute, before Sunggyu spoke up. "I saw him push Youngjae down the stairs." He said suddenly, quietly. "I was so worried about Hayoung that I kept it to myself, I knew I couldn't help anyway, but still. I saw it. Last night I went over hoping to make a deal. I figured that with Daehyun's power waning I could push him into letting Hayoung free. As I was about to knock on the door, I saw him pushing Youngjae towards the stairs. He hit him a couple times and then threw him down. I was scared he was about to do worse despite how bloodied Youngjae was already, so I knocked. He hid Youngjae from me and then answered the door."

"Is that what happened?" Yongguk asked Youngjae, who looked close to tears.

"He took a video of me...  _doing stuff_. He hacked into my laptop webcam over break and watched me and recorded me. I found out about it yesterday and I— he was threatening to send it to everyone, to post it online on porn website, to force me to shoot more if I didn't do exactly what he wanted. He showed me it before school and then he— he  _raped_  me as payment for deleting it. But he didn't delete it. I went home early from school and— Naeun was there and— they were— I snuck upstairs and deleted it and then hid in my room. He tried to use it to rape me again and found out it was gone and— he was going to kill me." Yongguk cut Youngjae off there because the boy's sobs grew largely unintelligible. He hummed softly, but it still took a couple minutes for him to stop crying. Jieun came to sit on his other side and hold him because he seemed rather uncomfortable with Yongguk.

"I'm so scared." He cried when he was able to manage words again. "I'm so scared. He said he'd fuck over my family. He said wherever I went he could find me and that he would—" Youngjae started sobbing again, unable to finish. It didn't feel like all of this was real. He was almost sure it was a trick, that Daehyun would waltz in at any moment and kill him for failing whatever sick test this was.

"I want you, the council, to end this relationship." Himchan cut in, reminding them all that he was giving his testimony and solution. "I want them broken up for good. Daehyun should be made the target for all he's done and Youngjae should be put under another student's care, or a group of students, meant to protect him and keep him feeling safe. I would like to suggest Yongguk and I as such guardians, although if other guardians are appointed in our place I will not object. We've heard quite enough to convict him regardless of his plea. Thank you." Himchan bowed and left, since as the plaintiff he was not allowed to participate passed that.

Daehyun was brought in a minute or two later, looking reserved and, if nothing else, a little shocked. "Youngjae, you can stop this. All you have to do is tell them to stop the trial."

"I tried." Youngjae lied, as Yongguk had advised him too. "They won't let me. They won't even let me vote in how this turns out."

"It's a whore-claiming." Yongguk asserted. "Because Himchan owns Youngjae through a whore claiming, and this is technically a dispute in ownership rights, Youngjae has no say in it. No matter how much he begs us to let him go back to you, which he has done a fair amount of, we do not have to and will not listen to him." His words were lies. Youngjae had begged them to keep him safe and away from Daehyun, but Yongguk had decided to do this as a way of protecting Youngjae. "You've been accused of breaking every single rule in section two besides one, and one rule from section one. How do you plead?"

"Not guilty." Daehyun insisted. "I've never done anything wrong to Youngjae. He's schizophrenic, bipolar, and dissociative so he may have false memories that I had done something to him. However, I have been nothing but loving and supportive of him, even though he is literally insane and a compulsive liar in addition to that. I am the only one that can handle his symptoms, and if not left in my care his mental health would suffer. If I really must 'suggest' some solution to this, then make him accept my fall. If he does, we'll be equal, as we already are behind closed doors. You can't believe anything he says, he's crazy. My staff would vouch for it were they not on vacation, he's not all there in the head." Daehyun was ushered out of the room and back upstairs.

"Alright, since he didn't plea guilty, we need to vote on whether or not to convict him. Any last remarks before we vote?" Yongguk asked.

"I'm not crazy." Youngjae said. "And I haven't lied to you. The most of you have produced evidence to back my claims, and I can present just the littlest bit more." Youngjae pulled down the collar of his turtleneck sweater to show the hand prints in the form of bruises where Daehyun tried to kill him. "This is from last night when he tried to choke me to death." He stood and turned then, raising the back of his shirt to show the scarred, bloodied skin. It was clear he had been whipped there by something thick, repeatedly and many times over. some of the wounds looked months old, simply scars of the past. Many looked new.

When he sat back down, Jieun pulled him into her arms. She wouldn't let go, and Youngjae could tell she was horrified. Looking up at everyone, he could see the horror on their faces as well. "All who believe Jung Daehyun is guilty?" Yongguk asked. All seven raised their hands.

Because they were rather squished with three people on the loveseat, Yongguk moved to sit next to Min on the far couch. Naeun was next to Suzy and Sunggyu was still by himself. As everyone settled in to get ready to set up a plan, Jieun continued to hold onto him. It took a couple minutes for him to relax into it, but soon enough with all of the sympathy and support in the room he was able to take comfort in the gesture.

The first thing Yongguk did was pull out his phone. He put it on speaker and they all waited as it rang, unaware of who he was calling. "Hello, Mr. Jung. This is Bang Yongguk calling as the leader of the head council at the university. Your son Jung Daehyun is on trial for breaking a whole slew of rules."

"Has he already been found guilty?" A man's voice asked.

"Yes. The evidence is outstanding and honestly a little sickening." Yongguk replied.

"Please give me a minute." Mr. Jung responded. They could hear him shouting and cursing over the line, despite having channeled their call onto the secretary's line. After a minute or so, he picked the call up again. "I'm guessing this is enough to get him kicked out of school and that's why you're calling. What do you want from me?"

"I'd expect many calls or texts from Daehyun when he gets his phone back. He'll probably be asking you to try to bankrupt me, Himchan, Suzy, and the others on the council. I trust you know the danger of giving in to such demands." Yongguk said, a cocky grin on his face as the other's registered what he was doing.

"Trust me, he will not be allowed any influence for a long time. I've already sent a memo to the board with an update to company policy. He won't even get a position of influence in this company. Happy? Or is there more I need to do to keep him in school?" Mr. Jung asked.

"I want to make sure this is for the rest of his life and applies to everyone. We have serious abuse charges against him, we want to make sure the person he was abusing and the family of said person will be safe from any influence he may have. It's our hope to move them since Daehyun knows their current address, but in the event that we cannot convince them to leave, we need to make sure you'll keep him from looking for them."

There was a long sigh and they could hear Mr. Jung calling to his secretary to send another employee to the school. "I'm sending one of my butler's to be his minder this very second. He's stationed in Seoul so he'll be there within a couple hours. I'll give him orders not to leave Daehyun's side. I'm also willing to pay that boy, what was his name, Youngjae? I'll pay Youngjae damages for whatever he's done if he doesn't sue and I'll happily sponsor a restraining order if need be. How much does he want?"

"We'll inform you of that later." Yongguk said. "I'd argue that, because of the environment he's used to, a $2000 stipend would be plenty."

"$2000?" Youngjae asked in shock. "Per year?" To him, that sounded like an excessive amount of money.

"Per week." Yongguk specified. Youngjae's eyes bulged.

"Wow, he wants that little?" Daehyun's father asked. "Easy. Consider it done. Is that enough to keep Daehyun in school? Not as the target, mind you. I'll accept a raise in price if it will prevent him from being the target."

"That should be fair for now." Yongguk answered. "I'll let you know if there are any other demands or if we can't make good on the target portion."

"Very well." The phone call ended, and Youngjae spent several seconds just staring in shock.

"That's my offer to you, Youngjae. We had this discussion before, making someone with a lot of social power the target could cause mass social chaos, but we can still get you out of this relationship safely. What do you think?"

"Hold up." Sunggyu interrupted. "Motion to just do what Youngjae wants in relation to this. He's the one that suffered, he's the one that knows what he'll be comfortable with."

"Second!" Min and Jieun shouted at the same time.

"Alright, one of you is second, the other is third, motion passes." Yongguk said with a wave of his plan. "Youngjae, it's your decision. We will pretend that it wasn't, in hopes of directing any anger towards us, but that's the new plan. You say what you want and we do it."

"Okay." Youngjae responded. "I don't think— even if we went with his plan and gave me the power in the relationship, I wouldn't be safe. You saw it, even when we were equal he had no hesitation in hitting me. Being around him makes me want to throw up after what he did yesterday. I don't know— I just want to be far away from him."

"So we scrap Daehyun's plan. Easy." Min said.

"Not easy." Suzy said. "The rules require two plans. We can vote to put an impossible condition on it to prevent anyone from voting for it though." Suzy thought for a minute. "Say, a monitoring condition. They must be monitored by ten people all the time to make sure nothing happens. No one's going to approve that plan because that's crazy, but we aren't breaking the rules so long as we have two plans."

"Add that." Naeun said. "But I think we should add something that's literally impossible so the plan can't be fulfilled."

"One of those people has to be Shakespeare and another has to be a unicorn." Sunggyu said. "That is entirely impossible, and that nulls out the plan, right?" Everyone agreed and Daehyun's plan was altered to that degree of impossibility.

"Okay, so we nullified Daehyun's plan, what's next, Youngjae?" Yongguk asked. "Jieun, tell him the current whole plan."

"The relationship is ended. Daehyun is declared the target. Youngjae is put under Himchan and Yongguk's supervision. Mr. Jung bars Daehyun from taking any revenge. Daehyun is put under constant supervision by one of his father's staff. Youngjae is given a $2000 stipend per week. His family is possibly moved."

"I don't want to make him the target." Youngjae said, which shocked everyone. "I really don't like the target system. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Besides, how is that going to help any once we've graduated? I'd prefer a restraining order." His speech was quiet, but it reminded him of who he was when this all started. It reminded him that this was just another chapter in is life, one that he could move on from.

"Changed." Jieun said.

"What about moving?" Sunggyu asked. "Practically, Daehyun knows where you live right now and that's a concern. Any of us would be able to finance a move for your family."

"I'd feel bad to ask for that." Youngjae mumbled.

"Then don't ask." Naeun waved her hand. She took out her phone and started texting. "My family owns apartment buildings all over Seoul. I'll get my mom to lower the rent on whichever apartment you pick and you can move there. It's not even unusual for us, we do sponsor contests once a year. So long as you can convince your family to move, I can get you a place.  In fact, it's done." She waved her phone in victory.

"Alright, that's done. No arguments." Min said.

"Should we call your father to alert him?" Suzy asked Yongguk suddenly. "We're supposed to report large trials like this, and he may be able to provide some aid if it means keeping Youngjae at the school."

Yongguk excused himself to call his father then, and while he was gone, the room went silent.

"Did this start recently?" Min asked suddenly. "You seemed so happy."

"He used to hit me when I didn't look happy enough." Youngjae answered quietly. "Or, sometimes he would decide I was just 'in a bad mood' and lock me in my room with no food for a weekend. If I complained he would try to convince me that no one else would put up with me and how awful I was. He always wanted me to ask for things because he was trying to buy my love, but when I asked for something he would guilt me for it. That wasn't that bad, though. He did worse."

"Like what?" Suzy prompted.

"He liked to beat me." Youngjae's soft voice continued. He had to pause to wipe away a couple tears and Jieun started to hum. "If anyone touched me or talked to me he would beat me. If I looked at anyone or tried to talk to someone, he'd use a weapon. That time Jieun helped me up he beat on me until I coughed up blood. Once he claimed I was looking at Himchan for too long and threatened to stab me. I still have some scars on my stomach from that." He gulped. "I'd always tell myself it wasn't that bad. It wasn't as bad as—" He had to stop talking because the memories of being locked in the basement made him cry.

"I wasn't allowed to talk to anyone. I wasn't allowed to look at anyone. I wasn't supposed to question him or talk back, I just had to do what he said. He'd pick out what I wore and what I ate and would beat me if I tried to refuse. At first he liked to just confiscate my phone. He would give it to me when he could supervise me using it. He would go through it constantly to make sure I wasn't talking to anyone. He still does, but now he's locked it so I can only talk to him and my parents. He even blocked my brother's number because he was starting to get suspicious that something was wrong." Youngjae told them. He didn't bother looking up, he could hear their shocked gasps and guess what their expressions were. "He convinced me that no one would help me if I told— that you all would just defend him for all that he's done because I deserved it."

Yongguk walked into the room before Youngjae could say anymore. "My father wants to kick him out of school." Yongguk reported. "He's only allowed to stay if he's put under constant supervision by university staff." Everyone in the room seemed to accept that quickly. "I have some good news, at least. Youngjae, you can't lose your scholarship anymore. My father is willing to let you take off for a year and fudge the records so it looks like you took a gap year before coming here. You're meal stipend will remain and he's willing to move you to a nicer dorm then the one you were in at the beginning of the year, provided you have roommates."

"That shouldn't be a problem." Sunggyu said. "The plan currently says he'll be under your supervision, so he'd live here, right?"

"I don't want that." Youngjae said quickly. "I mean, yes to the gap year. It would probably be in my best interest to take a little time off to recover, but I really don't want to stay here. He's next door and you guys are friends and— and really, all guys make me nervous now. Even my brother over break made me a little nervous."

"You can live with my roommates and I." Jieun volunteered quickly. "We're all girls. There are five of us and five bedrooms, but one of us is graduating this year so we need a new roommate anyway. That'll be four girls as your main supervisors, plus all of us have boyfriends that can help too. I mean, we already don't let them stay over, but like, if you want some muscled up, manly protection, all of them would totally be willing to help."

"Change the provision then." Naeun said.

"Youngjae?" Jieun looked for approval first, and when she got it, she changed to provision in the plan.

"Does that end our plan adjustment then?" Yongguk asked, standing to look over the plan they had drawn up. "Youngjae, is there anything you want to change or add to this?"

"It looks fine to me." He mumbled.

"How are you feeling?" Min asked, putting a hand on his knee. "A little better?"

"Terrified, but yeah, a little better." Youngjae answered. "I'm still somewhat convinced this is a test and he's going to come in at any moment and beat me for it. He liked to do that sometimes— send someone to talk to me just to make sure I wasn't breaking the rules. When Himchan first started pulling me aside to talk to him at lunch I thought it was one of those tests, but Daehyun beat me once for not responding because it made him look bad. I still thought Himchan was telling Daehyun everything I said."

"He wasn't." Yongguk defended quickly. "Daehyun, when he had all the power, liked to make me go do things for him, fetch people and things, carry stuff, little stuff like that. But, that pissed off Himchan, who is still, I think, a little mad that I got us into this situation where he has power over me. So, when Himchan got power, he decided to start doing something to piss of Daehyun out of spite. The thing that pissed him off the most was Himchan talking to you, so he did."

"What about what happened with Hayoung?" Sunggyu prompted suddenly. "This has been bothering me since lunch today, you didn't ask for her to be the target?"

"She came up and started touching me and she wouldn't stop." Youngjae said. "At that point, between the time I spent as the target and Daehyun having forced me into some stuff, I was so traumatized that it really fucked me up. All I asked him to do was to keep her away from me. I figured he'd send her off to be claimed by someone who would keep her in line or like take away some of her money as a warning. I was so out of it by the end of that party because I was so scared of what he was going to do to me that I didn't realize he would make it worse than that. All I wanted was for her to leave me alone."

"And he made her the target for a month." Sunggyu responded. "I don't know how conscious you were last night, I checked your pulse and all, but you looked like you were passed out. He was telling me that you wanted her to be the target and that he couldn't convince you otherwise. It was like he was trying to pin it all on you."

"He did that a lot, didn't he?" Jieun cut in suddenly. "He made Yoseob and I think our breakup was Youngjae's doing too. It wasn't really until the party that any of us realized Youngjae wasn't aware of the thing Daehyun was doing to us."

"I was only aware of what he was doing to me each time." Youngjae asserted. "Whenever someone got punished, I was punished as well. The times when he'd just hit me, I thought I was lucky. He could always do worse. He would do worse. The moment he thought he was losing control, he would shove me down and beat me or yell at me, try to terrify me." He paused. Some part of him screamed that he had bottled up his hurt for so long, he felt he needed to talk about it. When he expressed this, everyone urged him to continue. "He hit me on that first day. He had been so sweet all day, I thought maybe he actually liked me and would be good to me, that I'd be able to stand it. But then Seunghyun pushed me down that second time in the cafeteria. He dragged me back to the dorm and blamed me for it. He hit me and tried to convince me it was my fault, and that night was the night he started conditioning me to relax when he hummed. He beat me with his belt our second day together."

"It's like I'm trained now." He continued after a couple seconds spent recollecting himself. "He can do whatever he wants to me because if I fight back, he hums. After he raped me, he hummed so that he could do more. He uses it like that all the time— hum so he can keep doing whatever he wants. I can't fight back when he does, the conditioning is too strong." He took some harsh breaths. "I hate it. I feel like I can't control myself anymore. I feel helpless."

Suzy had just finished whispering something to Yongguk, who sighed. "I don't think shoving a pole up his ass will fix anything."

"But he deserves it." She grumbled. "Wait, you guys were fighting over break, weren't you? He called me to complain about it. What happened?"

"I didn't want to talk to him." Youngjae said. "It was stupid of me, but he had made so many rules for over break and I couldn't stand it. That was how I was paying him back for the favors at the party— I had all these crazy rules to follow about how often to contact him. I had to text him every ten minutes with where I was, who I was with, and what we were doing. He hacked into the webcam on my laptop to make sure I wasn't lying. Eventually I gave in and called him. He came to pick me up and he probably would have beat me to death if I hadn't done all of these sexual favors for him. I didn't want to, but I was afraid of what he would do to me if I didn't. He eventually told me his original plan to punish me had been to run me over with his SUV. If I survived that, he would wait until I was healed and run me over again. He said if I survived the second time he would have considered my punishment fulfilled, and if I had died either time he would have taken the rest of it out on my family."

"What kind of person comes up with that?" Naeun near-screeched. "Is he crazy?"

"No, he's just an asshole." Suzy cut in. "You'd be surprised the level of fucked-up a sane human is capable of. It's like a flaw in our species, we always think we're right no matter how wrong we are."

"It wasn't the worst thing he had done to me, since I got him to lower the punishment. I can't decide if the worst thing was yesterday or the week I spent in the basement. Both were traumatic." People prompted him to continue if he was able. "Well, I already told you about yesterday. But, before break something else had happened. I wasn't allowed to talk to anyone, but the staff in the dorm had convinced me it was okay to talk to them. One day, he caught us, and he found out I had been talking to them all semester. He tried to beat me to death. I don't even know how many times he whipped me with his belt before he finally threw me downstairs. Every time I go into a kitchen I remember it. I remember thinking he was going to rape me and kill me. And then he locked me in the basement. He beat me once or twice while I was down there, but eventually he just left me. He had one of the maids bring me food every couple of days and otherwise I saw no one. That was the time he told you all I fell down the stairs. I was in such an awful state of mind. Daehyun made me think it was my fault— that I was stupid and worthless. He probably wanted to leave me down there until break ended, but I started to freak out and dissociate and one of the maids saw so he had to bring me upstairs." His speech was constantly cutting off. He was sobbing so hard it was hard to speak. Despite wanting to talk about the trauma, he could barely manage the words.

The room went silent. It stayed silent as they all did what they could to help. Jieun and Min seemed to take over as his main comforters, and those slow, comforting touches brought him back to some sort of state of calmness.

Suzy and Min were banned from the room briefly so the end of their trial could be discussed. It was a no brainer, they wanted Suzy as a third minder for Daehyun anyway. Then everyone involved in the trials was allowed back in the room to get their stuff, although Himchan, Yongguk, Sunggyu, and the bailiffs made sure Daehyun could go nowhere near the sobbing Youngjae. Suzy came and whispered to him that Youngjae had tried to fight the trial decision, but Yongguk had used Himchan's money to force everyone into what he wanted. Youngjae was grateful for her lie.

"Father." It was no surprise when Daehyun immediately went to call his dad once he had his phone back. "I need— what do you mean? What do you mean cut off?" He shouted suddenly. "What, are you going to let Jihyun run the company once you retire then? Really?" He paused for a couple seconds, his face growing more and more horrified. "Father, you can't be serious. They're lying! I haven't done anything wrong. But— Father— Please just— Yes Sir." When he hung up the phone, he looked a Himchan and Yongguk with fire in my eyes. "You told my dad on me?" He shouted.

"Smart thinking." Himchan told Yongguk, pecking his cheek lovingly. "I knew I could count on you." Daehyun went to hit him, but was stopped. "Oh, come on, Daehyun. I'm sure the damage can't be that bad."

"He says he'll disown me if I slip u ever again!" Daehyun barked. "He says if I go within 200 feet of Youngjae he'll disown me and have me sent to jail!"

"Wow, I really like Mr. Jung all of a sudden." Yongguk said. "I just thought he was going to cut him off from influence, not finances and possibly his family." He paused for a second. "You know, I bet he'll tell your sisters too, Daehyun. We all know how much they hate abusers after that one nanny they had got killed by her boyfriend. I wonder how much they'll hate you." Youngjae recognized how much of a low blow that was— Daehyun really loved his sisters.

"Anyway," Himchan cheered. "Verdict time! Everyone is waiting on the quad for us, so let's go!" They were lead out in a large parade to the quad, where Yongguk explained the two cases and watched as the shock and disgust crossed every other students face. People started to heckle Daehyun from the crowd.

"Now, the verdicts." Yongguk said. "In the case of Min v. Suzy, the verdict is: Suzy is guilty. After discussion by the council and discussion by the plaintiff and defendant on their own, accidentally, we didn't mean to let them talk, we have reached a healthy medium. The couple will be separated. Suzy will be playing a 'minder' role for Daehyun, so she won't have time for a relationship anyway. Anyone who wishes to be with Min must ask her out, because she is no longer operating within our system. Also, Hayoung is not the target anymore."

People cheered briefly. "Can I say something?" Suzy asked. Yongguk yielded. "Min, I already said this about ten times in private, but you want me to say it publicly as well, so I will. I'm sorry. You were right, we suck at being in a relationship together, but we rocked as friends. So, when you're ready to forgive me for being a shitty human being, I would love to be your friend again." There was applause and the two girls shook hands.

"Wow, that's wonderful." Yongguk said. "Now, again, verdicts. In the case of Himchan v. Daehyun, the verdict is: Daehyun is guilty. Honestly, the evidence was outstanding and disturbing. It's a school-wide failure that we didn't catch this sooner and I for one am ashamed in all of us. Now, the solution is very long so I will give you the highlights that need to be school knowledge and I'm sure the rest will be spread by the end of the day. Jung Daehyun has been cut off financially by his father and will be assigned three minders. These minders job will be to watch him and assure he does not break the pending restraining order Youngjae will have against him, as well as making sure he does not do anything shitty in general. Mr. Jung is sending one minder, the principal has assigned another, and Suzy will act as the third as her punishment, as stated before. Needless to say, Youngjae and Daehyun relationship is now over, permanently. They are no longer allowed to have any contact with each other whatsoever. As per the one wish we granted Youngjae, Daehyun will not be made the target no matter how much he deserves it. Finally, Youngjae will now be living with Jieun and her roommates, who will act as his guardians. As most are set to graduate before him, new guardians will be appointed as the old ones graduate. He will always have five. At the moment, Min has been appointed as the next guardian should one graduate this year. That is all."

"I would like to say something." Himchan cut in. "As your fourth-year class president, I would like to urge you all to vote down the current system in our next referendum. As you know, twice a semester we vote on whether or not to keep the current system or make minor tweaks to it, which in the passed has given us such advantages as disallowing abuse in whore-claimings. Seriously guys, this is fucked up and we need to stop doing it. I don't care if we come up with a new system or just act like normal people, let's stop what we're doing now."

Sunggyu spoke next. "Our current system is currently being abused to allow abusive relationships to continue. While originally crafted to try and stop them, it is failing us now. As the class president of the third years, I would like to recommend you vote against the system in the next election.

"In the brief amount of time we had after the trials had ended, I looked up the number of abuse trials that happen at this school." Jieun said. "As your second year class president, I would like to say that there is a ridiculous number of them and we need to change how we do things. We can still have a school culture without enabling abuse. Even the target system is fucked up. We need to stop."

"As the first year class president," No one expected it, but Suzy spoke, "and someone guilty of abuse herself, I want to publicly criticize our system. The others are right, please join us in a vote to change this. No more claiming and no more targets, guys. It's not working."

"Youngjae." Daehyun's voice was soft as he called for his ex-boyfriend. "Please, I'm so sorry. Don't leave me."

Min cut in, being strong where Youngjae was not. "Shut up." She ordered. "You fucked up, now you have to deal with it."

"I'll kill myself if I can't have you!" Daehyun shouted as Youngjae was taken away.

"—and now you've broken every anti-abuse single rule, congratulations." Himchan said dryly. "Alright, that's it guys. The end. Time to take our hurt feelings and move on."


	22. Epilogue

"So, those are the major updates." Min said over the phone line. "Sunggyu and Hayoung are dating, Naeun and Zico might be dating, no one knows for sure, and the vote to abolish the system is in a couple days. Support to get rid of it is through the roof, although there is a pretty even split on  _how_  to get rid of it. With Daehyun bankrupt and some changes financially the students pushed for so that Suzy wouldn't be the richest— your class has a new head. Min Yoongi, who was abroad this year at UCLA, is your new richest student."

Youngjae relaxed at the sound if Min's voice. He was only calm enough to call her after his therapy sessions, any other time and it was too overwhelming to hear about school. It had been a month since they had gotten him out of the relationship, and that $2000 per week he was getting was currently going into therapy sessions. After seeing him break down more than once, Jieun and her roommates made the decision as Youngjae's guardians to take him to a psychologist. He was diagnosed with PTSD, which he found rather unsurprising given the amount of trauma he had been through. The main focus of his therapy seemed to be having him write about his trauma and then read it out loud until it didn't hurt anymore. His therapist was patient and understanding and while it was a long process, he did feel hope again and that was more than he had had in a long time.

"What about that drama about Suzy staying the class president?" Youngjae asked. He was on his way home from his appointment, through the streets of Seoul to his family's new apartment. They had though the apartment was Naeun paying for Youngjae's tutoring, and accepted to move with relief because the new place was so much newer, nicer, and closer to their work. Their rent was actually less than it had been before, which was appreciated.

"I told everyone I was okay with her staying president, so she's going to stay." Min said. "We're not quite friends again, but I imagine one day we will be." It went silent for a couple seconds. "How have you been, Youngjae? Have you told your parents yet?"

"Bits and pieces." Youngjae responded. "I can barely tell my therapist the whole story, I think I can spare my parents from the gory details. They're still happy to have me home though, and happy to see me getting back to myself. Lately I've been feeling a bit more free and a bit more hopeful, but it's not completely better. I still have to check to make sure he's not there when I go to sleep. I still have nightmares about what happened and some days even the littlest things can make me snap. The dissociation has been coming less and less. I don't know. It's just nice to feel  _here_. Like, I'm a real person again. I'm getting my cast off in two weeks too, although the doctor said my arm was crazy broken so they may have to put it in a new one once they take this one off."

"What about the hand prints?" Min asked, knowing that was one part of Youngjae's trauma that haunted him in physical form.

"They've yellowed and faded away. Say, how are Himchan and Yongguk?"

He could hear people calling for Min, probably as she went strolling through campus. "Our classmates send their well wishes." She told him. "The two of them have pretty much thrown out the book on how to behave. Himchan clings to Yongguk and whines, Yongguk teases him, they kiss  _all the time_  and it's getting a little annoying, but you can tell they're happy. All those years of pretending and suddenly they get to be themselves."

"I'm happy for them." Youngjae said. He was nearing a quieter part of town when his voice dropped. "How is he?"

"We still haven't seen him." Min answered. "He goes to class and goes back to his dorm. Suzy says he just sits around watching TV and staring off into space. If she tries to leave the room he gets upset and claims she's going to leave him forever. He's punched the wall a couple times apparently, but mostly he's the same. People like him don't change, Youngjae. No matter how big the shock you give them is, they just go on being shitty. His sister, the middle one, she visited a couple days ago and yelled at him in front of everyone. She wouldn't even hug him."

"What do you think?" Youngjae asked.

"He deserves it." Min answered. "For all he's done, he deserves what he's getting. He deserves a lot more but jury's out on that one. What do you think?" She countered.

"My therapist wants me to try to forgive him. Supposedly it'll make me feel better if I'm no longer angry with him. It'll take a while, though, he's done a lot." Youngjae said. "I should go, I'm nearing home. You know my mom gets antsy that it's Zelo when she sees me on the phone. Anything else that's new over there?"

"Nothing really." Min said. "I've gathered a crowd though, people seem to realize who I'm talking to and want to know the gossip."

Youngjae smiled a little. "Well, you can tell them my brother got engaged." He teased. "And that I'm getting better. It'll take time, but I'm getting better. Everything is just like a bruise, it's ugly and it hurts and it stays ugly for a while, but one day you press down on that patch of skin and there's no pain left, not even a discolored mark. Things are looking up, Min. Things are going to get better. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye, Youngjae. Call me again when you feel up for it." The phone call ended there, although Youngjae wasn't surprised when his phone started ringing seconds later. Jieun almost always called once she found out Min had, just to check up on him herself. He didn't bother looking at the number before answering.

"Hello?" He said. There was no answer at first. "Jieun?"

"I can't believe they did this to us, Youngjae." His voice sent shivers up Youngjae's spine and those tears were already threatening to boil over. He paused on the street corner, his head hung and his body shaking. "You'll come back to me, won't you? I won't let them take you away from me. You're mine, after all. So, even if it takes months or years or decades, I will have you back. You're the love of my life, baby, I can't lose you."

"No, Daehyun." Youngjae tried to keep his voice steady and firm. His next words were quick, followed by hanging up the phone and smashing it on the pavement. "I'm not the love of your life. I'm your obsession."

**Author's Note:**

> So, fun fact, AFF shut down and freaked all of the writers on there out, including me. So I'm moving this and my other stories. I'm sorry if for some reason I am undesirable...
> 
> Update: If there is a warning I'm missing please tell me, but I think I have all the needed ones..
> 
> Update: I've decided rather impulsively to post my stories on ao3 again, I'll hopefully have all of this story up quickly.


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